Circle And Cross
by Docnerd89
Summary: The one big connection between the recent murders is a symbol - a circle and a cross. COMPLETE.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Castle and any of its content. The people who do are geniuses.

**A/N: **Hello dear fanfic enthusiasts. I've only been one myself since about December of 2011. Since then however, I've read several stories which I have loved. I find it incredible that there are so many imaginative, intelligent writers out there who weave such wonderful stories. This is my first time writing one myself, and I'll try my best to update as often as possible. I'd love reviews and advice on my story, but please don't be too harsh. Without further ado, happy reading and I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 1

_She was cozying up with Castle on his couch on a rather lazy and uneventful afternoon. The curtains were drawn to make his living room dark as they watched 'Inception' on his massive television with surround sound. The couch was at a fair distance from it but given the size of the screen, the clarity of the noise that now filled the loft and the darkness that stretched across the ceiling, Kate felt like she was at a private screening in a small theatre. She looked over at Rick who was blatantly staring at her instead of the brilliant and slightly confusing movie that had her just about ready to chew her fingernails off – no worries though, she loved her nails. _

"_You know, this is even creepier than having you stare at me while I finish paperwork at the precinct", Kate said. "-not to mention the extra-creepy feel when it's so dark around us."_

_Richard Castle merely shrugged, like it was no big deal. "I've seen this movie before. Right now I'm having much more fun enjoying my favorite view."_

"_Yes, well, be more subtle about it won't you?" Kate replied nonchalantly as she was more focused on people chasing Leo around on the screen. When she didn't hear a retort, she looked over at him only to find a smug grin appear on his face. 'What did I just say? Why is he grinning - the big dope.' She thought to herself, but asked him aloud "What Castle? Why are you so happy?"_

"_You gave me permission to stare at you. This is great! You're finally warming up to me detective. Oooooh! I give you *my* permission to stare back. We can even have stare-offs when you're bored." Rick said, with a huge smile on his face. It's that special grin of his that both infuriates her and makes the hidden affection which she tries to bury deep in her heart bubble over just a little._

"_I didn't just give you permission, and I don't need *your* permission." Kate replied. How he draws her into these absurd discussions is beyond her. She tries to focus on the screen again. Just a few minutes of looking away and she's already confused about what's going on._

"_So you're saying you want to stare at me, and you don't need my permission to do it. I've always loved the bold side to your personality Miss Beckett, but this is just … so delicious." Rick said, that infuriating grin still anchored to his face._

_Kate reluctantly turned back to him. "Rick, shut up! I'm trying to watch a movie, which YOU convinced me that I 'totally needed to see if I want to call myself a normal member of the society'." She finished off in air quotes as she settled back into his side, turning her attention to the screen. _

_He finally did keep quiet. She thought for a moment that she might've hurt him – it was that unusual to have him silent – and she glanced at him to make sure. They were alright because after all his attempts to distract her, he was still blatantly staring at Kate, now with a soft smile on his face. _

_Rick seemed more than happy to comply. Through their entire argument, she somehow had moved closer to him, at one point she had playfully slapped his chest but she forgot to take her hand away, instead letting it fall into his lap. Yes, Rick was more than happy to comply with the gorgeous woman now snuggling with him on his couch._

_She can't remember how the time went by, it felt like they just blacked-out like a TV show or something, and the credits were rolling on screen. She straightened up only to notice that Rick had his arm around her.' When did they get so comfortable?' she wondered. But she lov—she liked this feeling, she felt protected in his embrace._

"_So- was I right or was I right? Huh? Huh? Wasn't that just the Best. Movie. Ever?" Rick asked her._

"_It was pretty good. Okay – it was awesome. Thanks for making me watch it Rick. It was a good way to spend my day off." Kate replied._

"_Of course it was. You were watching the best movie ever, while eating the best popcorn ever, whilst snuggled up with the most ruggedly handsome author ever. What's not to like?." Rick said confidently, although he was not so confident about what condition his ears might be in very soon._

_She swatted him lightly on his arm, but as he noticed, she did not deny anything he just said. She got up of the couch and made her way to the door, with him following close behind. _

"_Well, this was a great day" Kate repeated, "I'll see you at the precinct tomorrow. Thanks again Rick, for the movie, food and company." She smiled at him and reached over to take her coat but he stopped her by capturing her wrist. Kate had to look up a fair bit to see his face since she was left shorter without her killer heels. She looked at his face and saw a most determined expression as he kept coming closer and close. This time she didn't want to stop him, this time she didn't want him to stop. She parted her lips and looked one last time into his twinkling blue eyes just before closing hers and-_

The alarm rang loudly at five thirty in the morning to wake up a confused and slightly angry detective Katherine Beckett. That was a vivid dream she thought, as she turned off the alarm and ran her hand over her face. A really wonderful vivid dream that was interrupted. Stupid clock. Stupid time. She got out of her warm comfy bed and set off to get ready for the day. Just as she finished her morning rituals, which brought her back to reality, she heard her phone go off.

"Beckett", she answered.

"Morning boss, we've got a new one." Esposito told her over the phone, and continued on to give her the address.

"Okay Espo, I'll be there in twenty minutes" said Kate as she hung up and started another call.

"Castle", said a groggy sounding voice on the other side.

"Wake up sleeping beauty. We've got a body-drop and it might be right up your alley."

"Oooh" he said, quite like in her dream, which she pushed outside her mind hastily. "Aliens? Cowboys? Space cowboys?"

"No Castle. Clearly I'm mistaken about what alley you live in. But come see for yourself. I've gotta go." Kate said and then rattled off the address Esposito had given her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or any of its contents. **

Chapter 2

True to her word, Beckett got to the crime scene in just under twenty minutes. It was an abandoned warehouse; 'of course it is' she thought to herself. She saw a few officers and CSU staff flitting in and out of the door of the structure and a few curious onlookers who stopped by due to the ever intriguing yellow tape.

Kate crossed over to the crime scene by ducking under one of these said tapes just as Esposito made his way to her. Ryan followed close behind ready with a small note-pad in one hand and pen in the other. "What have we got today boys?" she asked, before they had a chance to talk.

"Hello to you too boss. The victim is a Mr. James Wilkins, 55 year old Caucasian male, running an incredibly successful company. He has two kids, one is doctor currently working abroad and the younger one, Ms. Maurice Wilkins, just graduated from Stanford-law. He had his wallet on him, that's how we got our identity. Face matches the driver's license … except for one minor detail." Esposito finished, as they made their way to the victim.

She took in all the information and was about to ask him more questions until she finally set her eyes on the victim. He was tied at his arms, waist and legs to the chair. His head hung close to his chest. Most gruesome of all, he was surrounded by a pool of blood – most likely the blood that dripped from the sites where both his hands were chopped off at the wrists.

This fact was confirmed by Lanie who was squatting by the body to examine it.

"Hey Kate. I suppose Javi has filled you in with the details about the victim before I had the chance to." She said as she cast a glance to Esposito who was standing next to Kate.

Kate's eyes darted between her friends and she did not miss the small smile each had on, or the fact that Lanie was referring to Esposito as Javi again. "Yeah, he filled me in about the vic. But he said something about his face." Kate said as she directed her question towards Esposito. "What minor detail Espo?"

Ryan did the honors as he had just finished putting on gloves. He moved closer to the body and lifted his head for all to see. There it was, right in the center of his forehead. It was some sort of symbol that was etched into the man's skin. It looked like it had been brandished there by a hot metal, quite like livestock branding. The symbol looked like a plus sign enclosed by a perfect circle. Ryan let the head down once he thought Beckett had good look at it. He caught the slightly shocked expression of his boss and was about to ask her what he thought when-

-"That is so cool!" Castle said from his place behind Beckett.

She jumped ever so slightly, having been so preoccupied with her thoughts on the symbol. Castle handed her her daily dose of caffeine and held on to the paper bag which probably had some breakfast for them.

He continued on "Back when I was writing Storm, I'd done research on several symbols and their uses in different cultures and sects. I think I remember seeing something similar to this one. It has something to do with Pagan beliefs or was it the Druids? I can't remember, oh maybe it–"

Before he could say more Beckett cut him off, saying "Okay Castle. It might be useful to read about it. Could you bring in your research later today so we can look into it? Until then though, we should concentrate more on the evidence to try and get something on this sick perp. Do we have any leads guys?"

Castle looked stunned and she wondered why that was for a moment. But he quickly looked away as he started typing diligently into his phone.

Ryan replied, "CSU still has to finish up over here, but so far no finger prints at least."

Beckett saw that Lanie had taken both the wrists into transparent plastic bags and sealed them off for further examination. She asked "Anything I should know about those, Lanie?"

"Yes actually" Lanie said, "Some of the fingers were broken. You can see bruising and swelling around the knuckles and some closer to the finger tips. He was definitely tortured before he was killed but I'll know more when I get him back to the morgue."

"Okay, keep me posted" she told Lanie and then directed back to Ryan and Esposito "Okay guys, canvass the place. If he was tortured someone might've heard something. There's a small chance someone could have been passing the place and overheard or seen anything suspicious. Castle and I will head back to the precinct to look over his research on this symbol. Let me know if you find anything."

With that Castle and Beckett headed towards Kate's car and she took the bag containing her bear claw from him and started at it greedily. "What?" she asked him indignantly on seeing the look he gave her "I'm hungry."

"Clearly", he said, "but that's not it. You're actually taking me seriously? You think this murder has something to do with Pagan beliefs?" He asked her incredulously.

That explained his stunned look from earlier. "I don't know Castle but it might give us an idea about the way our murder is thinking. I just have a feeling about this and he *could* be a psychopath." She replied as she revved the engine and started off towards the precinct.

Little did she know just how right she was.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you to those who are now following the story. To those who just started reading, I hope you enjoy it. Do review. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

Chapter 3

Kate dropped off Castle near his place and drove off to the precinct. Once she got there, there were plenty of things to keep her occupied. She shrugged out of her warm coat and left it on the back of her chair and sat down to gather her thoughts so far. A few minutes later there were several sticky notes with instructions all over her desk. Once she was satisfied with this work, she moved on to the murder board to update it with the latest information. She'd made a timeline and it always helped her think clearly.

Earlier, Castle made his way into the loft to find Alexis sitting with her laptop at the kitchen counter.

"What are you doing home on this fine afternoon young lady?" he asked her.

"Hey dad. I was just going through several options for my internship. I've been going through these for the past couple of days; I did find a few good ones actually. Now I'm just short-listing the potential one's that I might go in for." 

"That's great sweetheart. I'm glad to see you taking the initiative." Castle had a smile on his face and he was brimming with pride for the young toothless red-head who grew into this wonderful young beautiful girl now sitting in front of him.

"Okay. Now what are *you* doing home on a fine afternoon like this? Shouldn't you be out solving crime alongside Detective Beckett?" she asked her father.

"That's why I'm home actually. Say, maybe you could help me with this." He replied

"Sure, shoot."

"Do you remember when I did that research on iconography, semiotics and the rest of that stuff? You wouldn't happen to know where I've kept my papers on that, would you?" He looked at her hopefully.

"Actually I might have an idea." 

"Really?"

"Yeah. Remember that one summer when I'd really gotten borderline OCD with my organization skills? I decided to raid your office and clean up your mess after finishing the rest of the house. I catalogued everything on a file on your computer. If any of the stuff you're looking for is from before then, you'll find it on that file." Alexis was reminiscing about the good old days when career didn't matter so much.

"Oh yes! Child, you are brilliant. If you don't get an internship anywhere – which is never going to happen cause no one in their right mind would lose the miracle that is you – but if it does happen for now, I'll pay you to have another bout of that OCD with the rest of my stuff."

"Gee thanks dad. I'd love working for you." Alexis had a smile on but he'd caught the eye-roll and briefly wondered where she learnt that from.

Richard Castle went into his study and switched on his laptop. Despite the extensive cataloguing, it took him about half an hour to find the correct research and yet again he felt glad to have his angel of a daughter who turned out much too well for his understanding. After he found his papers he decided to give it a quick read and by the time he finished it was just before lunch. He called Beckett and told her that he'd found what he was looking for and that he would be at the precinct after lunch.

When he arrived at the precinct just after one thirty, he sat down in his chair besides Beckett and put down his file in front of her looking all too enthusiastic. "I don't know why I ultimately didn't put any of this in my books. It's fascinating stuff."

"You don't expect me to go through the whole thing do you? Read it and give me a summary." She looked up from her work and smiled at him.

"Pushy, pushy. You don't have to ask, I'd have done that anyway." He smirked "Okay so, I was wrong earlier. It isn't the Pagan symbol per se, although that is also a form of a cross within a circle so I guess I was only half wrong –"

"Castle" she glared but with an amused smile in place.

"Right. This symbol, the cross within the circle is seen in multiple cultures across many generations and dates back as far as early man." As Castle went on with his summary, Esposito and Ryan walked over and stood close by to listen.

"Across the ages we see it appear in Mesopotamia, Mohenjo-daro and Harappa, the Samahara cultures. More famously we see it noted as the Celtic cross from the pre-Christian era. The Native Americans used the pattern to represent the 'medical wheel' and it played an important role in their spiritual rituals. Most fascinating of all, the 'quartered circle' is believed to be the spiritual circle with lines extending from the center to the north, south, east and west; a representation of the four main elements namely earth, water, air and fire" he finished with a flourish.

"Woah man. That's a lot of meanings, which one we looking at here?" Ryan chimed in.

"Um. I can't say yet. We don't know that much about the murder." Castle answered.

"Alright, hopefully we'll figure it out soon" Beckett told him. "I called up Ms. Wilkins earlier, fortunately she's in the city and will be coming in shortly for questioning. What did you guys find out?"

This time Esposito spoke, "Not much to go on, boss. No one seemed to have been passing the warehouse around the TOD we got from Lanie. It's ridiculous how easy it can be to get away with murder sometimes." He finished angrily.

Ryan continued, "We did find out more about the vic. Mr. James Wilkins is one of the directors of 'Turbofuels'. As the name suggests, it's a fuel company supplying a lot of the gas stations across this city and others. It's successful to say the least and we interviewed a couple of his colleagues who all say he was well liked."

Esposito said "CSU finished their sweep. This guy was good. No fingerprints, nothing containing DNA besides the vic's and we couldn't find a murder weapon, nor the thing he used to brand him."

"Okay, well keep looking. Go through his financials to see if he had any trouble there. There has to be some motive behind this. Also check his phone calls in the last couple of days and find out where he was headed when this happened. I don't think his destination was an empty warehouse in the middle of nowhere." She said.

"Yes boss", they said as they departed to do their jobs.

"Turbofuels huh? I wonder – nah."

"What are you thinking Castle? Actually, wait, hold that thought. That must be Ms. Wilkins." She nodded towards the elevator as a petit young woman dressed in a skirt-suit came towards them. "Miss Wilkins, thank you for coming in. I'm sorry for your loss. We need to ask you a few questions, let's go in here". Beckett directed them to one of the interview rooms.

Beckett and Castle sat across the young woman who had clearly been crying. He noticed that she looked nervous and shook just a little but not too much given the circumstances. "Miss Wilkins, I'm detective Beckett and this is Mr. Castle" Beckett started.

"Please, call me Maura. My name is Maurice but I go by Maura."

"Okay, well Maura, I told you what happened over the phone sparing some details. Do you have any idea who could have wanted your father out of the way?" She asked gently.

"No detective. He worked hard, long hours. He put everything into his job and he did a great job raising my brother and me. He could be strict at times but he was a gentle creature. Almost all his staff loved him because he was a generous man as well." Maura said.

"Almost all? Castle asked

"There are few in the company who didn't consider him their favorite. But you can't expect everyone to love him. I don't think they hated him though. He never gave me any impression leading me to think otherwise."

"Did he have any trouble recently that you know of?" Beckett asked.

"Now that you mention it, I believe so. Turbofuels had been funding research into a new fuel with a mixed composition. It averaged better speeds on tests but also emitted more fumes. There were these environmentalist groups against the whole thing a few of whom dad said had personally met him regarding the matter and spoken harshly. But it all resolved itself when they stopped the funding because of long term damage to engines." Maura said.

"Okay. I think we can start there. If you could leave the names of the groups that you remember on your way out, we'd appreciate it. If you think of anything else please give us a call." Beckett handed her a card. "Sorry again for your loss Maura."

"Thank you detective" Maura said as she headed out.

Castle looked deep in thought as they got out too. Beckett handed over the information to the guys and told them to follow up with these guys. As she made her way to her desk she asked Castle "What did you say earlier? Before the interview I mean."

"I'm thinking about that symbol again. But I can't be sure yet. I'll sleep on it."

"Okay Castle. The guys are taking one of the two groups who met with Wilkins personally. We'll go see the other." She said as she put on her coat. "A Mr. Pierce, head of this one spoke with him."

"Alright" Castle said as they made their way to the elevator. "Lead the way m'lady."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thank you guys for staying with me so far. I hope I'm doing you some justice.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle**

Chapter 4

Beckett parked her Crown Vic near an area where a small scale, quiet protest was taking place. There were about thirty people from different age groups carrying signs – some serious, some witty. She hadn't been able to reach Pierce personally on the phone, but got to know from his sister that he would be here among the protesters. She and Castle got out of the car and went towards the group to ask one of them for Pierce.

"Excuse me, can you point me towards a Mr. Pierce?" she asked one of the lady protesters.

"Who wants to know?" she asked Beckett.

"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD." She moved her jacket just enough to show the lady her badge and then got it out of view again. No need to agitate the protest.

"Sure lady, that's him right there" she pointed out at a grungy looking guy probably in his late twenties. As they approached him she overheard him trying to get the building guards to let a few of them in. They stopped just a little short of him and tried to listen.

"Sorry sir, we have our orders. We can't let you in" the guard told him.

"We'll find our way in, with or without your help" Pierce replied with determination and Castle thought, just a little bit of rage.

He pointed this out to Beckett, "Seems like he's trying very hard to stay calm. Did you see his clenched fists?"

"Hmm. Let's go talk to him."

"Mr. Pierce?"

"Yes?" He said distractedly.

"I'm detective Kate Beckett, NYPD. Can we go somewhere more private to talk?"

"Uh – yes of course, let's walk this way" Pierce said as he walked in a direction away from the crowd. He unclenched his fists and started looked at the pair of them nervously.

"How can I help you?" he finally asked.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding the death of Mr. Wilkins."

"Wilkins? Wilkins, director of Turbofuels? He's dead?" Pierce asked. Castle seemed to think he was genuinely surprised at this knowledge. He looked over at Beckett and saw her taking in Pierce's expression too.

"Yes, Mr. Wilkins body was discovered early this morning. He was tortured before being killed."

"Oh my God! Why?" Pierce asked staring at them rather stupidly.

"That's what we're here to find out Mr. Pierce."

Immediately he clenched his fists again, eyebrows knitted together. "You think I did it? I had nothing against the old man. He was the most amiable man at that place. The directors of these companies don't usually take the time to talk to you, man. Wilkins had the decency to let two of us represent our group, to tell him our point of view about things. He listened to everything we had to say and explained in his part that they were conducting several tests themselves, some of which did test for the potential of their fuels to cause environmental pollution. He was a perfect gentleman. I – none of us, had anything against him. I'm sorry he died, I hope you find out who did it."

"He was killed Mr. Pierce and I will find out who murdered him. But we will need your alibi at the time of the murder."

Castle added "It's all normal procedure" as Beckett handed him her card."

"Very well" he said and gave her his alibi once she told him the time, before rejoining the rest of his group.

"That was dead end. Do you still think he has anything to do with it?" Castle asked as they headed back to the Crown Vic.

"No. I don't think so. He looked genuinely surprised at the news and it's not that hard to believe since he doesn't have a cell phone. Something about lead batteries, that's why we had to come here in the first place. But we'll have the guys corroborate his alibi anyway." They headed back to the precinct.

Once at the precinct Beckett starting updating the murder board yet again. She noticed that "someone" had drawn the symbol above the time line. Almost the same symbol, it differed in that it had two dots for eyes and a smile. She narrowed her eyes at Castle as he approached with fresh cups of coffee but couldn't hide her tiny smile. He did such things. Such goofy, adorable – wait, inappropriate she meant to think– things all the time. She thanked him for her coffee as he leaned next to her on the table. He was so close that their arms were touching every time she moved her cup towards her lips and she could have sworn there was a tiny smile on his face. Not that she was looking at him through the corner of her eyes or anything.

They guys were back by now too. They looked tired. It had been a long day.

"Yo boss" Esposito greeted her. "Wilkins was on his evening break-walk. He hadn't even finished work for the day. His secretary said that he often takes a long walk for about half an hour in the evenings to clear his head. He was supposed to come back. She didn't report him missing cause he had given her the rest of the day off and said he'd close up himself." Half-way through his retelling of the facts Captain Gates had stopped close to them, listening to the latest. They went on since she didn't seem to be interrupting.

"Did anyone see him leave? Was he followed?" Beckett asked.

Ryan answered "Nope. He left at about seven. No one besides his secretary saw him once he exited the building. We asked a couple of people the normal routes he takes and then questioned a few local vendors. None of them seemed to have noticed him."

"Financials are all steady. His will divides everything equally between both children and his wife. Phone records didn't show much. A few calls from a couple of unknown numbers to his office, but those weren't unusual. It seems a lot of people called him." Esposito finished.

Gates finally spoke "Alright. I think that's enough for today. We're getting nowhere at this point. Try again bright and early tomorrow."

"Yes sir" they all said in unison, Castle included which gained him a sizable glare.

"I just don't get why she doesn't like me" Castle said, "and here I thought she was finally warming up to my charm."

Beckett snorted.

"What? *You* did, didn't you?" he said with a smirk.

Beckett ignored him and went for her coat. Before she could reach it however, he already got to it and was holding it out for her. She let him help put it on. Just this once she thought, let him get away with it. Her skin tingled near her shoulders where his hand grazed her even if through her shirt ever so lightly.

They headed towards the elevator. It was somewhere between late evening and early for the night. He suddenly had the thought to ask her "Hey! Beckett, do you want to come watch a movie with us tonight?"

"NO!" She snapped.

Suddenly the dream which she had managed to push out all day came back to her, just as vividly. When she looked up, a bit embarrassed for snapping at him like that she had to fight hard to keep from laughing. He looked utterly confused at her reaction.

"Ummm. O-kay" he said, still feeling confused.

"Sorry Castle, I didn't mean to snap at you. It's been a long day. Rain check?"

"Oh yeah sure." He seemed only partly satisfied.

Once they exited the elevators she asked him "Just out of curiosity, what movie are you watching?" 'Please don't let it be Inception. Please don't let it be Inception. Given the concept of the movie, that would be creepy on so many levels.' she thought.

"Mission impossible: 3. We have a marathon going on before we see the fourth. We've already seen the first two over the weekend."

She positively beaming and sighed out of relief. "Great. It's a good movie." He seemed to be getting more confused and now looked like he was concerned for her sanity. "Good night Castle." She was still smiling as they parted ways.

"Good night. Until tomorrow detective." He called out to her as she waved with the back of her hand. 'She's definitely losing it. Or maybe I am. I just don't know anymore' he thought to himself. He shrugged and set off for home finally calling it a night.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't know if anyone is still reading this thing but I'm going to finish my story anyway since I started it. Thank you guys who subscribed for alerts. : ) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

Chapter 5

The next day Castle was still slightly wary of Beckett as he made his way to her desk, two cups of coffee – one of which he handed to her as he sat down on his chair. She took her coffee and thanked him with a smile and took a long sip and let out a contented sigh. It warmed his heart to both see her smile and hear her happy even if just for a moment, especially knowing it was because of his coffee – because of him.

"Thanks Castle. I'm going to need this. We're still nowhere with the Wilkins case. Everyone just seems oblivious to how he just disappeared from his walk, ended up with his hands cut off in an abandoned warehouse and that symbol. Where are the weapons, where's the evidence. There's nothing caught on camera, there's no witness. None of this makes sense."

He could sense her frustration. He knew she didn't like this feeling of being in the dark. Rather, of knowing that she's in the dark but not knowing from what. He also knew, that he was – with full knowledge of his actions – keeping her in the dark too. "We'll catch a break somewhere, Beckett."

"Esposito" They heard him answer his phone. "What? Are you sure? Yeah, yeah fine. Okay yes. Got it! Just give me the address, we'll be there soon." He finished.

"I think we got our break, unfortunately." Esposito told them both.

"Another one?" Ryan asked from beside him.

"Yeah bro. Same MO. Branded with the – the thing" He pointed to his own forehead.

"The quartered circle?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, that."

"Okay guys, let's go" Beckett said as she got up and put on her coat. Castle followed close behind her and they all took off for the scene of this latest crime.

Once they got there Beckett and Castle took their time observing the scene. CSU was already there but waited till New York's finest finished their short exam. Lanie was there too, next to the body poking and prodding with her gloved hands.

This victim was a middle-aged woman, probably in her late thirties. The first thing both of them saw was the symbol etched on her forehead, branded there just like with Wilkins. The next obvious thing they saw was disgusting. Castle thought he did a pretty darn good job holding his breakfast in. Even Beckett's nose crinkled. The vic's sockets had been hollowed. No eyes were there where they should have been. They saw this even though her eye lids were in place though severely deformed.

It wasn't a warehouse this time, but a research lab called 'Auctagnitio'. She still had on her lab coat, crisp and white with huge patches of red. Unlike Wilkins though, she wasn't tied to a chair but was rather slumped on one with her head falling to one side.

"This guy is really giving me the creeps" Lanie said. "At least this time it seems he didn't torture his vic."

"Really?" Castle asked as he pointed to her face "With the – with the – with that?"

"Lanie's right" Ryan said as he came to stand next to them. "CSU found this next to the body; it's been photographed and bagged before we came. They did that so as to confirm what's inside the syringe, but they suspect it's an anesthetic agent and a muscle relaxant."

"Yeah, I found the probably injection site. It's right into her right jugular. You can see some extravasation around the site. It would have acted fast, depending on the dose of course. But he's probably right; it must be an anesthetic agent. She didn't put up much of a fight. He did a pretty good job with the enucleation too although clearly not professional." Lanie said.

"The what?" Castle asked

"Her eyes" Lanie said.

"Oh right. Maybe she knew the killer" Castle said generally to everyone before looking away and puffing his cheeks.

"Maybe. What's the TOD Lanie?" asked Beckett, directing her question to the ME.

"I can't say for sure. I'll have a better idea once I'm at the morgue. But I'd say roughly between 11pm and 1 am last night." 

"Okay, thanks. What do you know about this place?" Beckett asked the boys.

Esposito answered, "We're currently at Auctagnitio. It's a research lab funded by private investors. They do research into all kinds of things. The building has several floors and different floors have different divisions. There's one floor just full of bees" he shuddered as he said. "This division worked with crops. They were working on genetically modified wines. Weed-killing wines to be precise. Our vic is a Dr. Rachel White, aged 38, working as the head of this division. She had four people working directly under her, and several others working under them. Guy that found him was one of those four. No kids not married and probably single but we still have to confirm that."

Ryan continued "We've asked the four guys working under her to come to the 12th later for interrogation. CSU will be sweeping the place. We didn't find the murder weapon this time either and we probably won't find fingerprints if the guy has been as careful as last time. But they'll do a thorough sweep nonetheless."

"Okay, you guys try and find out as much as you can over here" Beckett said to both of them. "Castle and I will go to the precinct and start with the questioning. Once you finish up over here, you can join us with the interrogation." She spoke with Lanie for a bit, thanked her and said goodbye and then they were on their way.

"This guy is ticking me off and creeping me out" She told Castle in the car.

"You and everyone else. Gyaauuckh." He said with a final shudder and flailing his hands wildly in front of him.

Even in the serious situation Beckett had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing at his antics. 'Mission accomplished' Castle thought to himself with the smallest flicker of a smile.

When they reached the station, two of the four researchers had already come in. Ryan and Esposito must have sent them directly there. That left one to yet show up and the other was probably giving his statement at the site of the murder. They introduced themselves and took one of the men into the interrogation room.

"Dr. Chance, what do you know about what happened to Dr. White?" Beckett asked.

"I know.. I – Philip told me over the phone. He called me after he called the cops"

"Do you know who would want to do that to her?"

"Not exactly" he said with a little hesitation.

"Not exactly as in you don't know anyone who would gouge her eyes out?" Castle asked earning him a glare from his partner.

He nodded his head as he shuddered.

"She wasn't exactly the best person. She was brilliant really and very organized, no one better to lead a research team. But she was a bi—she was a tyrant. She bossed everyone around, was never even remotely courteous, forget full on nice." He said "I wouldn't doubt that a lot of people wanted her dead. A lot of people I knew and on bad days that should probably include me. But like you said, no one would do it like that. At least I'd hope not" he finished, turning paler by the minute.

"Was it normal for her to be there that late?" she asked.

"Yes, completely. Like I said before, no one better to lead our research group. She worked herself to the bone, had a lot of breakthroughs too."

"Do you know if anyone else was there with her?"

"No, probably not. There were a lot of good workers on this team, but unlike her the rest of us had lives. Families to go back to. But if you want, you can just check the cameras."

"We'll be doing just that. We need to know where you were between 10:30pm and 1 am last night" she said.

"Yes, of course. I picked up my son, Greyson at 9 from his friend's place and then went home for the night. My wife can tell you I never left after that."

"Okay Mr. Chance. You're free to go. If we have anything else, we know where you reach you. If you think of anything, give us a call" she said handing over the card.

"You're son in Greyson Chance?" Castle asked.

"Uh, yeah. That's what I just said."

"You must be so proud. His voice is lovely."

"What?" Chance said looking a little scared and confused. "Why do you know what my son's voice sounds like?"

"Are you serious? All of America knows your boy sings like an angel!"

"Sings like an angel? He can't hold a tune to save his life, bless his soul." Chance said.

"I – oh – um – wrong Greyson Chance I guess. Sorry" he shrugged as Chance left the room looking warily at Castle.

Turning to Beckett who stared at him with a mixture of an amused and annoyed expression he said "What? Doesn't the man watch T.V.? I mean the kid has the same first AND last name! He could've just said it's not the same Greyson. Jeez." She rolled his eyes at him.

They called in the next candidate – a Mr. Patel and saw that the third man, Mr. Smith had arrived and so had Ryan and Esposito. "I like to call them 'Rysposito'" Castle said, earning him yet another eye roll. Beckett instructed them to take the third man in for questioning as they had already finished with the fourth – the man who found her body. She then went back to her own interrogation with Castle following as usual.

They were done in a short time. Patel gave them pretty much the same idea as Chance had. They didn't learn anything new and definitely nothing important. It didn't help that the woman who was killed was wanted dead by so many people. Rysposito's interrogation also yielded similar results.

She told them to go through the camera footage and security system.

'But not like that' all of them had said. Beckett thought it was unnerving that they probably had thought of other ways to kill but pushed the thought aside. God knows she has enough problems to deal with.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N : **Woohoo! More subscribers. There *are* people reading this after all. Welcome aboard. : ) And double woohoo! I have my first review :D. Thank you **klindsay**, also thanks for the advice. : )

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle**

Chapter 6

It was early in the evening when all the interrogations had ended. They didn't end up with too much useful information. Usually it helped to know if someone wanted a victim dead. That narrowed the search for a murderer. Here it just widened the search since according to everyone who worked with White they all wanted her dead – but not like that.

Things were looking up though because Ryan and Esposito had checked security footage and found an anomaly. They caught up with Castle and Beckett to fill them in.

Esposito started "One of the researchers we just interviewed, Mr. Nathan Smith; his alibi doesn't check out. He said that he was also working with White till about 8 and left her there alone and alive after that. He claims he walked all the way home, which we just found out is several blocks from the lab and then stayed there the rest of the night."

Ryan continued "So we called up his building security to confirm his alibi. Turns out the guard had left his station to check out some drunken ruckus a guy was creating nearby right about the time he claimed to have gotten home. So there's no one who can corroborate his whereabouts after 8 pm."

"So we went back to the security footage for the lab and boom." Esposito continued "Right before the time of the murder we see a man dressed in black jeans and a black hoodie with the hood drawn up and dark glasses entering the same floor as White."

"We checked with the labs security team, they said that getting in the lab could be easy enough, but you can't get to White's section without a special clearance card. We asked them to run the last entries, and we get our hit – it was Smith who entered at about 11:15 pm. We saw the footage from the camera inside, White turned when she must've heard someone enter and looked surprised, but she spoke calmly enough and turned back to her microscope as if it was normal for that person to be there. Then we see a black paper going in front of the camera so we don't know what happens next, but we can guess."

Castle interrupted "Black paper? I thought you said the cameras were sprayed black."

Ryan answered "In the rest of the lab, yes, but this one had nothing when we saw it in the morning, and CSU didn't find anything either. It was low enough for someone of Smith's height to have slid it in place and taped it there. He probably took it away after he positioned her and left. In that position, her back was turned to the camera, all the blood was in front of her lab coat, so immediately no one would have thought anything was wrong. She probably looked like she was asleep."

This time Beckett spoke "Okay and because she turned back to her microscope, we assume it was someone she recognized."

"That's right" Esposito replied. "Hoodie guy matches Smith in build and he fits our requirement of her knowing him."

Castle pitched in "And he hated her too."

"Right."

"Good work boys, let's bring this creep in. Find out what he had to do with Wilkins."

With that Rysposito puffed out their chests clearly proud of having cracked the case and set off to bring Smith in for a confession.

"Hmm"

"What Castle?" Beckett asked as they both stared at the murder board.

"I was just thinking about that symbol again." 

"That's the only thing connecting the two" she nodded.

"Not necessarily" he said.

This had her interest piqued. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you remember one of the meanings of the symbol was 'Earth' and the four elements?"

"Yeah, go on."

"If you consider it in that context, it might be possible that the murderer is targeting those trying to change the Earth. Whether it's to harm it or otherwise. Wilkins' company – Turbofuels was engineering a new fuel composition" he said as he got just a little closer to her. They always did that.

She nodded, going a step closer herself encouraged by some sort of progress with the motive, " White's team at Auctagnitio was working on bioengineered crops, among other things. They both have ties to the Earth."

"But wait, that can't make sense." Castle said as his face fell. "Smith was part of Auctagnitio. He obviously knew what he signed up for and he's been working there for years.

"It could have been just to get close to White and her research division" Beckett said, but she knew too that this was a thin explanation.

"Still, if he could go after Wilkins, he could just as easily have gone after White without actually having worked with her. Can we find out more about what was going on with White's work?" Castle asked.

She knew he was right. Something didn't fit. "Yeah, we can do that. Until then, let's crack this guy."

"Beckett" she answered her phone.

"_Yo boss. We might have a problem." _Esposito said.

"What's wrong?" Beckett asked him. Castle tried to lean in but thought better of it and backed away while covering his earlobe.

"_Though Smith's alibi with the guard didn't check out. He has another more solid alibi." _

"And that is?" she asked him.

"_He was getting lucky in his apartment. With two women." _Esposito replied. _"And his neighbor can confirm it. He says he could hear the whole thing and went over to his apartment to tell Smith to keep it quite or take it someplace else."_

"Okay, tell him to come in tomorrow morning for questioning anyway. There's something amiss about this whole thing" Beckett said. "I think we should call it a night for now."

She retold the facts to Castle.

"So why'd you call him in tomorrow."

"We need an explanation about his key card anyway and this way we can ask him about the project they're working on."


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or anything to do with it. **

Chapter 7

The next morning Castle came in a little early. He handed Beckett her coffee which she took with a smile and a thanks. He glanced over at Rysposito both of whom looked clearly disappointed that their theory was a bust. Smith was to come in shortly for questioning.

There were still too many questions to answer. Why did the murderer have Smith's key card? Who had White recognized that night? What was with that Godforsaken symbol? And although Castle had his theory, there was still the lingering question about the motive behind both murders.

Smith arrived shortly and was escorted to the interrogation room. Beckett and Castle went in there with all the questions looming above them hoping for at least some answers.

"Mr. Smith, I'm detective Beckett and this is Castle. You dealt with our colleagues Detectives Ryan and Esposito yesterday. As they informed you, the murderer had entered the lab with your key card."

"I don't know how, but it was stolen. After the other two detectives came to me yesterday, I checked my bag, asked them to check it too. It wasn't there. It was nowhere in my house. You don't need the card to go out of the lab, only to enter it. So it's possible that the key card got stolen sometime that I took my eyes off my bag. I never kept it on me. And you have my alibi too" Smith finished nervously.

"Okay. That might be true, or there might be another scenario." Beckett stated.

Castle continued "You could have left for your house anytime between 12 and 1 am. Your neighbor had already told you to keep it down, which you probably did. So if you got out after that sometime when the women might've fallen asleep, you – a genius researcher could have easily distracted the night-guard and snuck out of your building. All you had to do was carry your key-card and a spray can which you'd have gotten ready earlier and dress inconspicuously. Dark glares, dressed in black over all, no one would have recognized you. Sure White was surprised if just for a minute and then she got back to her work because she recognized you. You had the added benefit of knowing where the cameras are so it was easy enough to take care of that. Then you kill her – the woman who had been insulting you for years and just walk out of there. Somewhere along the way you dump your key-card before sneaking back home" he finished.

His story was so convincing that Beckett considered it could actually be possible. She knew better though, taking all things into consideration but she saw that even Smith considered the scenario as he visibly paled and got completely nervous.

"N-no. That's not what happened. I swear" he stammered.

Beckett banged her hands on the table causing him to jump back "Then tell us what did happen Mr. Smith. It's your key-card we found, it's you who she recognized isn't it? Just tell my why you did it. Why kill White, why kill Wilkins?"

"Wilkins? I didn't even know him personally. Only what I saw of him on T.V." he said slightly stuttering as he spoke.

Just then Ryan walked in and placed a laptop so they all could see. "This is the camera footage. We went over it again and found a profile – of you." He pressed play and they did indeed see him as he momentarily lowered his glares.

"That's – that's not possible. You can ask the girls. We didn't do much sleeping. Someone must've tampered with the footage or something" he was now positively alarmed.

"Technology isn't that advanced Mr. Smith. Someone can't just 'insert' you in a video so easily" Castle said.

"But this isn't poss-" He suddenly said as his eyes widened. He went even paler if at all that was possible. He started shaking from head to toe. He spoke with a shaky voice but one that wore conviction "That isn't me."

"We've been over this – " Beckett said.

"No, you don't understand. That isn't me. It's my brother Daniel. My twin."

They all stepped out of the room leaving Nathan Smith alone. They needed a minute (or a few days) to regroup.

Castle spoke first. "A twin brother who's on a killing spree? This is more convoluted than – than –"

"Than one of your books?" Esposito said, fist-bumping Ryan.

"Har har." Castle replied dryly.

"It does seem far-fetched" Beckett added "But it's possible. We'll get back in there, ask him further questions. You guys go check this stuff out." She took a deep breath before getting back inside along with Castle.

"Tell us more about Daniel." She said as she sat down.

"The last I heard from him, he was in the military. He was always the smarter amongst the two of us." Nathan said.

"Smarter than you?" Castle asked.

"Yes. I worked really hard to get to where I am. Long hours, sleepless nights of studying. But he got ahead in life very easily. He had a photographic memory. He wasn't as emotional as me. He was even more athletic than I could ever hope to be. Right since we had kids head had a knack for manipulating people. His charm and knowledge propelled him in every field. He started at a prestigious university in the field of genetics just like me, but he dropped out in his second year to join the military. He said he could use his skills on more important things like protecting our country. After that he more or less stopped communicating with us, save for the letters we exchanged."

"What did he say in his letters recently?" Beckett asked.

"He had told me that initially they took him on in one of their research divisions but once they tested him on the field, he came out with flying colors of course. Eventually he was out of research and on the field permanently. Initially it sounded like he enjoyed it, said that it gave him an adrenaline rush like never before. But then his letters started changing."

"Changing how?" Castle asked.

He looked at his clasped hands and replied "I don't know exactly. Something felt off. He'd always been good at hiding his feelings. Like I said, he wasn't emotional like me, like most people. But I could sense it – maybe it's that twin bond thing people talk about. Sometimes he sounded agitated, sometimes he didn't talk about work at all. I asked him in my letters but I never got a straight reply from him."

"Have you heard from him recently? Did you know he was back?" Beckett asked.

"No, I had no idea. The last letter I got from him was about 8 months ago."

They heard a knock from the mirror. Beckett went to the door as it opened just a bit. Castle correctly presumed it was to confirm everything Nathan Smith had just said. Beckett told him he was free to go, but that if he heard anything from his brother, he was to call her immediately and told her to hand all the letters to them.

The rest of the day was spent in trying to find out more about Daniel Smith. It wasn't easy. Whatever it was that he did in the military, they weren't too forthcoming with the information. By the time they did the scut work to make the military comply, it was nearing night and they would only have their information the next morning, along with the letters Nathan Smith said he'd find and hand over.

"There's nothing more we can do today guys. I'll see you tomorrow. Get some rest. This thing is turning out to be a huge headache." She said and saw them nodding their heads.

Castle saw as she wore her leather jacket. He bent forward a little to see her helmet under her desk. She had brought her bike.

"Ooooh Beckett. Do I finally get to ride your bike with you? Please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?" He asked Beckett enthusiastically. She couldn't help but smile at her writer man-child. Her writer man-child? When did she start thinking that she wondered.

"Do you have a helmet?" She asked.

"No. Why would I?"

"Then no rides for you tonight Castle." The second she said it she realized she should have been more careful with the wording. Judging by the smirk on his face, he was thinking along the same lines.

"Okay detective. Too bad. I'm sure it would have been great" he said in a low voice that caused a blush to sneak up her skin. Score Castle-1, Beckett-0.

She had to regain control. "Next time carry your helmet."

"Oh I'll carry it every day from now on" he said. "Next time I'll be prepared." Score Castle-2, Beckett-0.

She was off her game tonight, she just handed those to him in a platter. She was too tired to think right now anyway and thought it better to part. She'll get him back for this. "Good night Castle" she said firmly as she paced ahead to get to her bike.

"Until tomorrow, detective." He stayed back and watched her mount her bike and put her gloves on. He also noticed someone else dressed in all black on a bike looking like he was waiting for someone. He couldn't help but be slightly worried but he chalked it up to paranoia. He was always a little paranoid these days about her safety.

As she revved her bike and started though, he saw the man in black do the same and follow her. He tried calling her once but knew that she might not hear it while riding her bike. He called the boys.

"Espo, I think someone's following Beckett" he said as Esposito cut his call. He turned around to see that Esposito and Ryan were just behind him. They must've just been about to leave too.

"Which way did they go?" He said as all of them stepped toward their car. Castle pointed out and said that she was headed home.

"Let's go." They all sat in the car and made to follow her.

Castle wasn't the only one paranoid about her safety. There was only one person more paranoid than he was, and that was Beckett herself. She's a trained detective who knows when she's being followed.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **Thank you all who have followed/favorited and reviewed this story. I can't tell you how happy I am that you guys have reviewed it as an interesting read. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint. It's a bit fluffier than the ones I've posted so far, but goes back to plot in the next one. I hope it's not too abrupt. Let me know. Keep the reviews coming. : ) Happy reading.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle. Big surprise.**

Chapter 8

Ryan, Esposito and Castle quickly caught up to them in one of the squad cars. She had picked up speed and changed her route. Castle thought she must've known that she was followed. But Smith picked up speed too. They were going fast and turning at high speeds. Now they'd left the main roads for some of the by-lanes. They'd left the siren off until they saw him drawing a gun from his back pocket. He was aiming for her but got distracted when he heard them coming from behind. Beckett turned again onto the main road. She must've heard them too. He turned behind her and them behind him. There was nowhere to go ahead and the turn was too sharp, she had to skid to a stop. Her bike skidded from under her and she rolled on to the ground. Luckily her momentum had slowed enough that she probably wasn't too hurt. Daniel Smith - they presumed – didn't stop. Instead he swerved his bike onto some steps to his left that led through a park. People screamed as the whole thing went down, there was utter chaos everywhere. They stopped the squad car and made to get out just as Esposito instructed Castle "Hey man, you go check on Beckett just in case, I'll go after this guy on foot, see where he goes. Ryan call for back up." He set off running.

Castle would have checked on Beckett anyway. He saw Ryan starting to talk on the police radio and himself ran towards Beckett.

"Beckett! Kate – are you okay." He saw her struggling to get up and reached over to help her.

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just sprained my ankle and scraped my knee a bit. Help me up" she said.

He did just that and more. She was surprised as he enveloped her in a hug. She could feel his heart beating as quickly as hers was and didn't fight it. She hugged him back. "I'm okay Rick. I promise" she said and then he finally let her go.

Ryan came over to them. "You okay Beckett?"

"Yeah, thanks Ryan. I'm fine, just an ankle sprain" she told him. "Could have been worse" she realized it had been the wrong thing to say when she took in Castle's expression. He was face was full of concern.

"Javi went after the guy but he was riding like a pro. I called in back-up but there's probably a greater chance of him escaping. I'll go back to the precinct check out footage from the closest traffic cameras from earlier. Maybe we'll get a clue where he came from. How long he was waiting. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. I'll come with you."

"No. You might be fine, but this is enough for you today. Espo and I will take care of it. See you in the morning" She could be stubborn, so could he. He's learnt from the best after all and with Beckett sometimes you had to fight fire with fire. He went back to the squad car and took off.

"Come home with me tonight" Castle said.

"What? Castle I'm fine. I can go home" she said.

"No" Castle said as he gently caught her arm. "He was waiting for you Kate. We don't know where he is, he could come back for you later."

It was getting harder to say no to that pleading look he gave her. Truth be told, she didn't look forward to the prospect of going home alone either. The PTSD might largely be under control but it could still creep up when she knew she's being hunted. But Kate Beckett was stubborn. "Castle, he could come after you too. What about Alexis and Martha? We can't put them in danger over this."

"They aren't home. Alexis has gone for a weeklong vacation with Paige's family and mother is out this entire month touring with her school for a play" before she could argue he went on "and if I'm in danger too, then come protect me, I'm all alone at home." He said softly giving her a tired smile. As an afterthought he added "My building has better security too. We can go pick up your clothes and then I'm taking you home."

She didn't know what to be more afraid of – a killer who might strike her at her home, or staying alone with Castle at his loft. He thought she would fight him more. He knew how bull-headed she could be and he was prepared to be just as much if not more. He was preparing arguments in his head while wondering what she would say next which is why he was surprised at what she said. "Okay Castle."

He couldn't hide his surprise. "Okay?" but he thought better of it. No giving her chances for backsides "Okay. Let's go then. You're ankle is sprained. We'll take a cab now and you can collect your bike tomorrow." He hurried to park her bike near-by in an empty spot and quickly got back to her side. He looked so happy that she agreed that she couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from going up.

They made a quick stop at her place and got her clothes and a few things she thought she'd need. He insisted she pack enough clothes for a few days, just until they caught Smith, and as a precaution. She did it to stop Castle from arguing anymore. She was already tired and her ankle was hurting if she put too much pressure on it. They got home to the loft a little after an hour. She let him take her bags and set her up in his guest room while she huffed and sat down on his living room couch.

She admitted – only to herself – that she felt better and safer to be with Castle too. She didn't very much like the idea of going home alone to her apartment after what had just happened, not that she would say as much to anyone. Plus how could she really say no to the man who watched her die in his arms, who waited for three months without so much as a word from her and still forgave and took her back when she showed up again. How could she say no when he was obviously hurting about the past too, when all he was trying to do was be her wall instead of trying to push past it.

Castle finally came down and sat beside her after setting down a first-aid kit on the table. She felt warm and cared for. 'This man. He cares so much for her, makes it so hard to keep her defenses upright' she thinks to herself. As he started examining her foot she felt sparks of electricity jolting into her body from where he was touching her. It took all her strength not to gasp and flex her leg away from him.

He wrapped her ankle deftly in a bandage and then cleaned her knee – fortunately very minor scraping – and put band-aid on it. She could only watch him as he did this and felt grateful that he couldn't see her right at that moment because there's no way that she could've hidden her adoration – her love - for him. Once he was done he packed the kit back and leaned back into the couch facing her. "I can make pasta in garlic sauce really quickly if you're hungry" he said.

The way she was looking at him right then, he could feel the butterflies forming a conga line inside him. He didn't know what to make of it but he couldn't will himself to look away. "Pasta sounds good" she finally said. Her stomach must have agreed with her cause it audibly growled as he got up. He chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen.

They ate the pasta in a comfortable silence and then bade each other good night. He was still worried about her. Soon after they'd retired to bed both of them were awake. He heard a noise from the kitchen decided to investigate.

"Hey" he said as he saw her filling a glass with water. "Couldn't sleep?"

He knows her too well. "Yeah. Just" she shrugs.

He went over to her side of the counter and grabbed her free hand gently. He intertwined their hands and led her to the couch. When did they get to this point? She should be fighting this but instead she's just staring at their linked hands. She should be pulling her hand away from his but she can't. This feels good, it feels safe and above all it feels right. Once they sat on the couch he said "I couldn't sleep either" and adds a shrug much like the one she had earlier. "I've decided to cash in on that rain check. Pun intended" he smiles. He still hadn't left her hand and she still didn't want him to. They both leaned towards the table. She put her glass down now that her thirst is quenched and he picked up the remote and turned on the DVD. "I was going to watch this movie anyway. To fend off the boredom since Alexis and mother aren't home. You don't mind watching 'Despicable me' do you?" She gave him an amused grin and raised an eyebrow. She knew what he was doing. He was always good at distracting her and he was always good at picking the correct time to distract her.

"Really Rick? A cartoon movie?"

He smiled at her use of his name. "It's a really intelligent cartoon movie, Kate."

She looked back at the screen with a close-mouthed smile on her face which he took as a yes. Something light-hearted would do them some good tonight. He turned the movie on and they started watching. A few minutes later she was snuggling into him. She sat to his right with her sprained but bandaged – thanks to him - right ankle on the table and she was leaning into him with her head in the crook of his right shoulder. If she were to look up at his face she'd be looking at the most contented man on the planet. She needed to feel him at her side just as much as he needed her. The few months they'd spent apart after her shooting when she had been healing alone, she always wondered what it would have been like to have him right there besides him. In her mind he was with her of course, but she'd wished for the physical and emotional comfort of having him next to her as well. She didn't have to wonder anymore. It felt perfect, so good. If he were to look down at her face he'd be looking at the most contented woman on the planet.

The T.V. was set to switch off on a timer at the end of the movie. They fell asleep more or less in that position, in each other's arms and though it would kill their muscles the next morning, this was the most comfortable sleep that either of them could ask for.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **More alerts means more people reading. Thank you and welcome aboard.Gugh. I've written ahead by a few chapters and I find that it's very hard to refrain from posting more than one chapter a day. I don't want it to get over too fast though. Problems, problems. ; )

**Disclaimer: I still do not own Castle.**

Chapter 9

Kate Beckett had days where she went with minimal to no sleep at all yet she always woke up early. Her internal clock was so habituated that she didn't need an alarm clock by her bed although she did have one just in case. So like every other day for the past – who knows how many – years she woke up nice and early.

Richard Castle had days where he slept till the light of day came and went and it would be dark out again. Though he'd been waking up earlier than he should (He still woke up early of course. He had a child to take care of) for the past four years he still wasn't accustomed to wake up at the break of dawn. He usually joined the rest of them at the precinct at a more decent early than dawn – that is unless there was a drop. If there was a chance to be around Beckett with good reason, more than he already was, he wasn't going to miss it.

When she awoke she found them almost in the same position they slept in. She was sure their bodies must've moved involuntarily at night to keep from getting sore – the human body is smart that way – but overall, they were the same. She picked her head off from him and saw that their hands were no longer intertwined. Instead her right hand was on his chest, his right hand was around his waist keeping her close to him and his left hand was under hers on his lap. She couldn't suppress a smile from forming because though it should scare her, though she should be bolting she wasn't, it still felt right. The smile only grew when she took in his face. There was a remnant of a smile lingering on his relaxed face and coupled with his sleep tousled hair, he looked so adorable it was hard to look away.

She had to look away however. They had a psycho killer to catch after all. He stirred as he felt her move away from him and gave her a groggy smile and wished her "G'morning Kate".

"Good morning Rick. I'm going to go get ready. I don't know what you did to my ankle but I can almost move normally" She said as she showed him by moving her foot at her ankle.

'Ah, they weren't talking about it. That's fine, that doesn't make it any less real' he thought. "That's great! I'm glad. I'll go get breakfast ready" he said with a smile.

She got ready taking a little more time than she normally did. It's not that the showers in his guest room felt like some sort of miracle rain massage, just that she was being careful about her ankle. Maybe she took longer than she thought because when she came down he was fully dressed and making breakfast. It smelled heavenly.

"What's on the menu?" she asked him.

"Fruits" he said as he put down a bowl of strawberries and another of blueberries in front of her, "Bacon and eggs" he plumped down the dish that made her mouth water "and coffee" he said as he pulled two mugs, one for her one for himself. If the other stuff hadn't done it already – the steaming brew of high-end coffee had her salivating. He looked pleased and she thought that he had a right to. She gave him the biggest smile he'd seen in the past couple of weeks. He kept to himself the fact that he felt his heart triple in size; instead he gave her a big but soft smile of his own.

She had eaten heartily much to his pleasure. After he made his call to Alexis while Kate gathered her things, they set off towards the precinct all the while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

Once they got to the precinct they were back to being Beckett and Castle. It was unspoken between them. She didn't need to say it, Castle always understood and he always complied. It was one of the things she found endearing about him. He knew what she needed when she needed it. 'Why am I thinking about things I find endearing about him? Focus Kate' she told herself.

"Morning guys, did you get anything yesterday?"

She must have sounded as chipper as she felt because Esposito cocked an eyebrow and gave Ryan a knowing look. "Morning boss. I chased him on foot for a bit, but he was on a bike so I lost him pretty quickly. Although I did tell Ryan what direction to send backup in. He's smart though, he probably changed direction several times to lose us."

"They couldn't find him" Ryan confirmed. "How's the ankle?"

"Almost as good as normal" she smiled, "What do we have to work with this morning?"

"Nathan Smith brought in the letters. We've went through most of them. You guys can start with the rest" Esposito said. "We don't know where Daniel Smith is staying and we've got Nathan Smith under protective custody. Chances are he's seen his brother helping us out. One of the soldiers from Daniel's contingent – his best friend apparently – is coming in an hour for questioning."

Beckett and Castle took the rest of the letters and headed off to her desk. As they started reading they realized that what Nathan said had been true. Daniel's letters did start to sound off and they did get more agitated with passing time. It seemed like he tried to cover up his agitation by asking Nathan more about his work.

"Listen to this –" Castle read from one of the more recent ones "These people don't know what they're doing, Nate. I told them to stop screwing with God's work. Instead of heeding to my warnings, they permanently shifted me over to the field. They're just going to ignore all my lab work."

"Yeah, this one too" Beckett said as she read out another letter "I've told them it's a mistake. They haven't finished testing it fully in the lab but they've put it out for human testing already. If they keep going without thinking about the consequences, they'll have to deal with the outcome. I'm sure someone will show them right from wrong soon enough. But enough about that, Nate tell me more about your work? Tell me you guys test more extensively than we do here. Is your boss still grinding your nose to the stone?"

"He definitely has a problem with all of it. I think we were right about the motive" Castle said.

"Yes, I think we're right about it too."

Just as they finished the last of the letters they saw Daniel's best friend coming in. He wasn't in uniform but he sure looked like a soldier. He was probably six feet and seven to eight inches tall or so Castle estimated. He was extremely muscular, had a hardened face and a crew cut. They led him to the interrogation room after formal introductions.

"You wanted to know about Dan" Stephen Sanders said sadly.

"We were told that you are his best friend. That if we wanted to know about him you'd be the person to ask" Beckett said.

"I was his best friend."

"What happened?" Castle asked.

"Let me start from the beginning. It might give you some perspective. When Dan joined the military he was much too enthusiastic to be there. Some of us resented him for it because not all of us had as many options as he clearly did. He was always smart but he never showed off – he mostly kept to himself. His enthusiasm started to rub off on us. He obviously had his heart set on protecting this country by whatever means he could. He'd told me that he applied initially for field work but when they saw his resume they asked him to join their research division. He wanted to help in whatever way he could, so even though that wasn't what he signed up for, he did it willingly."

"Go on" Beckett said softly as she saw that he was struggling with the story.

"He did it willingly at first. But whether he was working himself too hard or whether the pressure was coming in from them, he was starting to lose it. It wasn't even that he was angry all the time. Sometimes I'd seen him break down, sometimes I'd seen him blankly staring at the wall. I never said anything of course because he'd become my best friend. Luckily I was always around to witness it. I only supported him. I didn't know yet."

"Didn't know?"

"I didn't know what was happening with him. In retrospect, he was having these – these mood swings. He was fighting with the higher-ups about testing their specimens. He thought he had the right since he was involved with most breakthroughs. He was close to engineering a corn that wouldn't need as much pesticide so that cultivation costs would be cut down drastically. Something like that anyway, I didn't understand much of it. I tried to tell him to take it easy but he didn't want to listen to me anymore. We had a fight and things went downhill."

"Downhill how?"

He took a deep breath and released it before he went on. "They had enough of him in the lab. They didn't want to deal with him anymore. So they told him that he'd have his wish and they put him in the field permanently. He didn't get to enter the labs after that. A few days after that he snapped. While we were undergoing a training exercise, someone must have provoked him. He turned on one of our guys and started choking him with his bare hands. We had to go break it up. I'd never been more scared of him or - anyone else for that matter - in my entire life. What I saw on his face was pure fury."

"He had been seeing one of our in-house psychiatrists." As he said this his lips quivered and he twiddled his thumbs absently. These were tells. Castle saw it and so did Beckett. It was obvious that he was hiding something. "They told him they had had enough. That he had been given more chances than anyone else would have gotten. They told him that this was it. He was discharged after that – not dishonorably though because they knew he knew too much of their experiments. Though he'd signed a confidentiality clause about them, I suppose they wanted to avoid any repercussions."

"What did the psychiatrists say Mr. Sanders. I can see you're hiding something."

"I – nothing" Sanders stuttered. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked at the recorder and the camera of the interrogation room. She motioned to Esposito through the glass to turn off the camera then she turned off the recorder. "I'm not supposed to be telling you this."

"Off the records" Beckett said. Castle leaned in attentively.

"He came to me one day after the psychiatric sessions. He was shaken about something so I asked him what he said despite our fall-out. He said that his psychiatrist had told him that he suspected it was MPD. I tried to talk to him more about it but he just shut me out and ran off. We never spoke about it after that and it was soon after we had the conversation that he was gone."

"MPD as in multiple personality disorder?" Castle asked in disbelief. This was getting more twisted by the second.

"Yes sir. I felt so bad about everything. It wasn't entirely him that fought with me. I confronted my superiors. They pretended not to know anything about the MPD and it was almost convincing. But then they said since our psychiatrist had referred him to another civilian psychiatrist, they were no longer liable. They told me that if I ever said a word of this to anyone, they'd give me the boot as well" he said guiltily "I have a family depending on me. I couldn't risk – but I sent him letters. I told him that I understood his behavior from earlier, that he might actually get better with the help and from being away from here. I never got replies."

"I'm sorry Mr. Sanders" Beckett said sympathetically. "Thank you for telling us this. We'd have been in the dark for longer. I'll keep it off the record, we'll try to find the civilian psychiatrist so that you don't have to get involved. I think that's all for now. If we need you we know where to reach. But if he contacts you at any point, call me immediately." They all stood as she gave him her card. He gave her the name of the civilian psychiatrist and parted ways.

After Sanders left the precinct they all gathered together to give update Captain Gates.

Gates wiped her face with a hand and said "This is getting ridiculous. Find this guy and put him behind bars as soon as possible."

"Yes sir" Beckett said through gritted teeth.

Castle thought 'No. That's not what we've been doing so far and that's not what we'll do now. We're going to continue to slide down rainbows and ride unicorns hand-in-hand while searching for gold pots in the land with leprechauns.' He kept it to himself though. Probably not the best thing to say when you're not in Iron Gate's good books to begin with.

Beckett rolled her eyes at Gate's back as she stomped away from them.

"Oh now we're supposed to catch the guy?" Esposito said with a grin.

"Damn why didn't we think of that" added Ryan while snapping his fingers dramatically.

"Come on guys. She's just as frustrated as we are" Beckett added with contained laughter at their antics.

"And I called it convoluted before" Castle said as he made a comical face.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Remember what I said in my last Author's note? Course you do, it was just a few hours ago. It seems I *have* no self-restraint. "I have a strong will but a weak won't."-Smart quote I always thought. Also, Thank you again for the reviews and follows. Special thanks to klindsay and squarenine. : ) Oh, and there's more fluff in this but lots of plot too.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

Chapter 10

Beckett made a quick call while Castle returned their used mugs to the break room sinks. She was putting on her coat as he approached. "I think it's time to pay a visit to our friendly neighborhood psychiatrist. You coming Castle?"

"Course" he replied.

By a bout of good fortune ('maybe there *is* a leprechaun lurking somewhere' Castle thought) the psychiatrist was free for a few hours this evening and agreed to see them on short notice at his office. They took their seats on the two chairs opposite his desk although Beckett saw Castle eyeing the couch at the back.

"Dr. Ford, thank you for meeting with us on such short notice. We have a few questions we needed to ask about Daniel Smith."

Ford nodded "Of course, anything I can do to help."

"Can you tell us about how he came to be your patient?" Beckett asked.

"He was referred to me by one of my friends in the military. I was told that they had discharged him and so the in-house psychiatrist couldn't see him anymore so I took the case on."

"How was he when her first came to you?"

"I can't divulge too much information you understand? Physician-patient confidentiality and all that" he said.

"Yes, just tell us how much you can."

"When he first came to me, he was eager to- get better. He came for a few sessions but then he stopped. I noticed that towards the later sessions that he didn't seem interested anymore."

"Okay. You're a professional in the field of psychiatry. Tell me everything I might need to know about Multiple Personality Disorder." Beckett phrased carefully after noticing his hesitation while answering.

"Umm" Ford looked confused but went on "Okay. Multiple personality disorder – or now called Dissociative disorder is pretty rare. We can only label it that when there are at least two personalities – usually diametrically opposite but not necessarily so – to a person. In the time that one personality dominates the other, there are usually periods of memory loss. The memory loss can be noted in small every-day tasks if you look out for it."

"What causes it?"

"There are many theories to that really, and none confirmed. That's how this field works unfortunately."

"Tell us a few."

"It could be triggered by excess stress but it's common to have some sort of traumatic – physical or emotional – event in the past. Mostly around childhood or early adolescence" he finished.

Castle asked "So hypothetically, ah- if Mr. Hyde were to show up on a killing spree, Dr. Jekyll can't be held accountable?"

"I don't know that much about the law regarding it all unfortunately. You should probably ask a lawyer who deals with medico-legal cases."

"Okay. Thank you Dr. Ford. I'll call you if we have more questions. Thanks for your time."

"You're welcome" he said and added hesitantly "I hope you catch the murderer." He shook hands with both of them.

They sat in the Crown Vic and Beckett started towards the precinct. Castle said "That was illuminating."

"It was indeed" replied Beckett. "There are still many questions unanswered though. Assuming Daniel is our guy –"

Castle snorted.

"We have to assume since we don't have solid evidence Castle. Anyway, so assuming Daniel is our guy, there's just that. Where are the murder weapons and how did he get them? Where's he hiding now? What ties him to Wilkins?" She glanced at Castle and didn't say more. He had his thinking face on and she didn't want to interrupt him. She was eager to hear his story - as she secretly always was, not that she'd tell him

They got to the precinct and noticed Ryan and Esposito at their respective desks, both on their phones. Beckett hung her coat on the chair and sat while Castle prepared two fresh cups of coffee for them. She was smiling at him when she saw Ryan approach.

"Hey Beckett. We contacted Turbofuels again and spoke to Wilkins' secretary. She confirmed that a man claiming to be Dr. Nathan Smith from Auctagnitio had met with him about a week before the protesters when they had some bad press. Wilkins had tried to explain to him that their product was still under trials and it was wrongly released to the press that it had already started being distributed. She said they'd had a heated argument but that it had suddenly gotten quite. When she asked Wilkins about it he had shrugged it off saying that the young lad had apologized, that he was having a bad day and had left on a cordial. He even started acknowledging Wilkins' point of view and said he'd love to meet again to discuss it more."

"She didn't think of telling us this before?" Beckett palmed her face.

"Didn't think it was important" Ryan replied.

"They never do" she said with a sigh. Castle sat down besides her handing her a cup which she took appreciatively.

Esposito joined them too. "We still have Nathan Smith under protective custody. But Daniel is being smart and staying away. I just got off the phone with him. He said that he wrote a lot about his work to Daniel when he found out that his brother got into the genetic research division just like he was in."

"Okay. I think we should pay him another visit tomorrow and ask him a few more questions about his brother. Speaking of which, are we anywhere closer to finding him?"

Ryan shook his head. Esposito answered "No. We've distributed Nathan Smith's photograph amongst the patrols and told them to report any sightings. So far nothing though."

She sighed again. "Alright. I think this is all we can hope for today. Castle and I will go over to Nathan's first thing tomorrow. Ryan I want you to follow up on where Daniel could have been staying. If he's that smart he's probably using another name, we already know he's impersonating Nathan. But he might slip up, might already have slipped up earlier, you never know. The guy has to live somewhere, spend money on living, food. Something has to click somewhere if we look closely enough. Espo, you said that the license plate on the bike had been blacked out but check for the recent sale of or rent on the make and model you think it is. He'd been discharged not longer than 8 months ago so you might find it in that time period."

"Okay. All that first thing tomorrow." Esposito said.

"See ya boss" he said to her and added a nod to her partner "Castle."

They practically ran out of there. Ryan was happy to get home to Jenny at an hour where he might actually get a hot home-cooked meal. They all knew where Esposito was probably headed but Castle just had to put in his two cents. *Cough*Lanie*Cough* he coughed at Beckett. They took her Crown Vic to his loft. They'd drive it back to the precinct in the morning anyway.

Once they were home Castle ordered for pizza. They were both tired from this case and so they decided to indulge in some good ole' pizza. She changed into her PJs and he into a t-shirt and long comfortable track pants. The bell rang just as both of them re-entered his living room. He went to answer it as she sat down on the couch and rested her head against the back with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes as he placed the pizza box on the table. She saw him go to the kitchen and bring back two dishes and cans of soda for them.

"I'm starving" she said as she took two pieces onto her plate. He smiled.

"Hmm. Me too" he said, taking his own. He was happy that she didn't argue about coming back to the loft tonight. He really thought she would. He'd been waiting for it but it didn't come. He couldn't be happier. He turned on the TV and they watched the news but he knew as well as she did that neither cared about the weatherman's prediction for tomorrow.

He'd been hoping that they could somehow get back to last night's snuggling position again. Her ankle was all healed though, so he didn't expect it realistically. After they were both done she turned to face him full on. He turned off the TV and moved to reflect her position – one leg bent on the couch and the other down. Their knees were touching now and he couldn't help but notice that like yesterday, she was on the right and he was on the left. He thought that this was a very couple-y thing to do, they'd already assigned positions for themselves. He couldn't hide his smile.

"What do you think of all this? I know you have a theory. Spill it" she told him.

He was perplexed for a second. She couldn't have wanted to hear about his 'we're already a couple-ish' theory. Instead he said "You think you know me so well do you?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes, I do."

"Yes you do what? Do you think you know me or do you know me?" he asked with a smirk.

"Both" she said as she started chewing on her lower lip.

She looked so cute when she did that he thought. And her eyelids were getting a bit droopy. All he wanted to do was cradle her in his arms and take her to his bed – in his guest bedroom of course – and let her sleep away the stress. He pushed those thoughts aside and gave a deep sigh before continuing.

"We know about his connection to Turbofuels now. It would have been easy enough for Daniel to stalk him for a couple of days, figure what time he took his daily walks. Then he did the same thing that he did with White. Wilkins must have recognized him and not thought twice about it because they ended off on good note. Could have been easy to lure him to the warehouse or maybe he gave him some of that anesthetic stuff he used on later on White. White was an easy target. She didn't have a life outside the lab and he had unique access to it."

Kate nodded "I wouldn't be surprised if he'd planned on killing White initially but landed up murdering Wilkins first."

"Right. So now we have to figure out where he got his weapons and what he did with them. He probably still has them – which is a scary though. There's not much we can do about it right now anyway" he finished.

Kate sighed and put her head on her forearm which was resting along the back of the couch. "I hope this gets over soon. It's starting to give me a headache."

He couldn't help himself. He reached out with his left hand to put a stray hair behind her ear. She turned to him. He didn't retract his hand instead he lightly trailed his fingers across her jaw with the whisper of a touch. She just stared at him as he did at her. Her eyes flicked down to his lips and then back to his eyes. He was looking at her with such devotion and unguarded love. But she didn't think they were there yet, as much as she wanted to be. Before they could go any further, before she had the chance of pushing him away again and nullifying their progress she finally said "We should go to bed Rick. We're both tired and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

She saw the hurt flicker in his eyes even though just momentarily as he took his hand back. She put her hand on his and gave a light squeeze to convey an unspoken need for him to understand. He must have realized that she wasn't shutting him out, that she wasn't running away because he gave a small smile to let her know he'd keep waiting. That this was enough for now.

"We should go to bed, eh detective?" He said while wiggling his eyebrows. She knew he was trying to lighten the situation.

"Separately Rick!" she rolled her eyes and swatted his chest lightly. She didn't take her hand away, instead smoothening the creases on his t-shirt. "Thank you" she said in an almost whisper.

"Always" he replied just as softly.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **As always, I start out with a thank you for the follows/favorites/reviews. : ) .. Hope you like this one too. We start really getting somewhere with the next chapter. Be on the look-out. ; )

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. Tra la la la *sigh***

Chapter 11

It surprised both of them when they thought about how easy it was to fall into a routine with each other. There was no awkwardness in the morning. They both were up and ready early and were already making breakfast. This time Kate decided to help Rick with it. If anyone were to watch it from a perspective besides their own, it looked like they were doing an elaborate dance around each other in the kitchen. She'd duck under his arm when he would reach up to a shelf above her, he'd slide away from the stove when she came to put a pan on it. No words needed to be spoken, besides those related to the case of course. They spoke as they ate the end results.

"What's our first step today?" Castle asked her.

"I already told the guys that we'd be going over to Nathan's house. He's under protective custody but living in his own home. It's safer if we go there rather than to draw him out to us." She replied before she took the last of her strawberries into her mouth. He rinsed of their plates and put them in the dishwasher as she poured the freshly brewed hot coffee into their travel mugs. He placed a quick call to Alexis and once he was done she said "If you're done, we can leave."

"Yup. All done, let's go" he said as he took his mug from her.

On the way to Nathan Smith's place they decided on what all they should ask him, so when they reached they got right into it, not wanting to waste any more time.

"Mr. Smith, first off we need to know more about your work and whether you'd spoken about any of it with Daniel" Beckett said.

"We were working on a new genetically engineered variety of wines that were weed resistant. Initially it was all going well, but recently we noticed some unwanted mutations. Dr. White thought those were too minor to worry about and she was pushing for the project to get the green signal for the next step. We're a privately funded lab you see, so the more results we showed the better funds we got. As it is Dr. White had been lucky to get the project, it wasn't going to be ours to begin with." Nathan said "And as to whether I told Dan about any of it. Yes, I did. Like I'd told you earlier, when he got the research position I got excited. I told him all about it. Not the specifics of course but just as much and a little more than what I just told you. I – I also told him about White over the next few letters. I didn't think much about it. I was just venting to my brother, you know?" he said sadly.

Castle turned to Beckett and said "Well that would explain why he wanted White gone." She nodded. He turned to Nathan and asked "Why is it that he's still studying and you already have a job?"

"I don't know. I always made safer choices. I wanted to settle down in life quickly and I knew I was interested in this field. Dan always wanted adventure and he wanted to learn more. When I was still studying, Dan had taken a few years to do odd jobs. In that time he did a fair bit of travelling and got into other activities like mountain climbing, stunt biking, long-range shooting, welding and carpentry to name a handful. I guess we ultimately thought alike though cause he came back to genetics."

"Okay, one last thing Mr. Smith. Where do you think Daniel could be staying in the city? What places did he frequent when he lived here before?"

"I don't know where he'd be staying. He was renting an apartment when he lived here back then. I can give you a list of places we would often go to."

"Thank you Mr. Smith" she said as they took they list and headed back to the Crown Vic.

While still on their way to the precinct she got a call from Esposito and patched it through her car's speaker system to Castle could hear it him too.

"Beckett" she answered.

"Hey boss. Ryan followed up on Daniel's last credit entry and that led us to the garage from where he purchased his bike. It's a small garage that sold him a then green colored bike, so he must have painted over it and changed the plates since then. BUT, on a hunch we started showing his photograph – or well, Nathan's anyway – to the shops, cafés and other establishments around here. A local café barista recognized him, said that he comes here almost every alternate day and the last time he came was 2 days ago. We've told them not to mention to him that we were looking out for him. That's when another guy from the café who was eavesdropping – "

"Lucky for us" said Ryan in the background.

"Yeah, another guy recognized him. He said that Daniel rents a flat in his building. He'd left along with this guy in the morning saying that he'd be back sometime late in the afternoon today. So we're going to go to his apartment and uh - hang out – while you guys go get us a search warrant" Esposito finished.

"Great work guys!" Beckett said, clearly pleased. "We'll get that warrant and come meet you guys there."

"Don't we need some paperwork?" Castle asked.

"We have it in the back seat. I don't know why I left it there but it's lucky I did."

"Must be that leprechaun again" Castle replied quietly with a grin.

"Huh?"

"Oh nothing. What are we waiting for?" he reached over and took the papers into his lap. "Dictate and drive, I'll fill these in on the way. Time is precious."

He filled out the forms as she dictated them while she drove to the court. They found a judge they recognized and got it signed within the hour and headed to the place Esposito had told them earlier. Daniel hadn't yet returned so they had time to properly don their vests. While Esposito waited at the door just in case Daniel showed, the rest of them were looking through his apartment for the weapons or any evidence really. Just over an hour of thorough searching – during which everyone but Castle took turns as the look out – and they found nothing. They had the right apartment though because there were a few pictures of him, torn envelops in his name rather than Nathan's and a few belongings telling them that it was the place he lived in everyday. Castle was looking through his book shelf and speaking into his recorder. 'Only you Castle' thought Beckett. After a few minutes, she thought he must have been bored because Castle asked her if he could go talk to the neighbors.

While they were still searching every nook and cranny desperately Ryan called out from the door "Hey guys, we've got company" he said Daniel came up the stairs.

They got their weapons out and were ready to run after him if he bolted but if he was surprised it was only for a second and then he looked the least fazed as he noticed them. "What are you doing in my apartment?" he asked while maintaining a calm composure.

"Daniel Smith?"

"Yes, but you already know that, don't you? You're in my apartment after all" He replied calmly.

"We're NYPD. We have a warrant to search your apartment" Esposito said. "Are you carrying any weapons?"

"No" he shrugged, "just my groceries. Feel free to check though."

Esposito lowered his weapon and searched him. He wasn't carrying.

"That was fun. Now, why are you searching my apartment? Maybe I could help you out." He said with the slightest smirk.

"We're searching because you're a suspect in the homicide of Mr. James Wilkins and Ms. Rachel White." Beckett said. When Ryan spotted Daniel, she sent him a quick message not to come back to the apartment but to wait for her in the car. She promised that everything was okay and added a please in the end which is why Castle probably must have listened to her she thought. He'd only sent her a text in return '_K. Get my recorder pls. Left it near his door.'_

"Wilkins? I don't know him." He looked

"But you know White?" It was part question, part statement.

"I know a Dr. Rachel White. My brother, Nate worked for her. Are you talking about the same one? A pity she'd dead" he said without a shred of pity nor a shred of guilt. "Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked.

"No we didn't. But we will." Beckett said just as calmly. She had to hide the anger that was bubbling inside of her. She couldn't give him what he wanted.

"Ah but then, I'm a suspect you said. Are you here to arrest me?" he asked while his face actually broke into a smile. Esposito looked like he'd like to knock off some of the teeth Daniel was showing.

"We don't have enough evidence" she said. "Yet."

"Hmm. Have you finished searching my place?" he asked.

She nodded fractionally.

"Okay. Well then, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. As you can see, I've just come back home and I'd like to have a quiet peaceful day. And I'll have to clean up the mess you've made. I'd have saved you the trouble and helped you in looking if you'd just asked nicely" he said with a smile. "I'm pretty good at finding what I need, you see" he looked straight at Beckett.

It took all of her strength to put her gun in her holster and take the guys along with her and out of there. She took Castle's recorder as discreetly as she could manage then she had to push them out because he'd gotten to them. Before he could close the door she looked him straight in the eye and said "I will find the evidence and then I will make an arrest Mr. Smith." He closed the door, just before he did though, she fleetingly saw what she thought was doubt in his eyes.

They went back to the cars empty handed. Castle was already seated just like she had asked. He looked at her when she took a seat and started to drive. She hadn't said a word and she didn't look at him. She handed him his recorder silently and heard the pop of a button. He knew she wasn't angry at him but she was definitely angry by the looks of things. She was clenching and unclenching her jaw, her knuckles were white on the steering wheel and her eyes were narrowed. He thought it better to take her cue and stay quiet. When he saw that they were going to the loft however he broke the silence.

"We're going home?" He was surprised.

She sighed before saying "Yes. It's late enough. There's nothing more we can do today. They guys are going to work on some more leads. I'll tell you the rest when we get home."

When she parked her Crown Vic she finally turned to him. "Thank you Rick" she said. When he looked confused she added "For listening. Let's get upstairs quick. I'm hungry."

"Sure. You can fill me in while we eat or after" he said.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Oh look! It's working again. Finally I get to upload. Anyway, my darling readers, I'm winding off the story soon – Chp.15 will be the last. I hope you enjoy it while it lasts. Thank you all for sticking with it, and me. : )**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle.**

Chapter 12

When they entered the loft, she immediately went to freshen up while he went to the kitchen to get some food ready. He noticed in the car that he'd left the recorder on and turned it off just then. He decided to rewind and listen to figure out what had her that angry while he cooked dinner. By the time she came back down, already changed for bed, he was done listening and he was just as angry.

She sat at the kitchen counter as he got both of their plates ready and then sat down besides her. "So I guess I should fill you in" she said.

"No need" Castle replied. She detected a hint of anger in his tone.

"I'm sorry about earlier Rick. I couldn't bring myself to talk." She looked down as she said it.

"What?" he asked. Realizing what he must have sounded like, he hastened to explain. "Don't apologize, Kate. I literally meant that there's no need. My recorder caught everything. I'd left it on" he finished sheepishly.

"Oh!" she said, surprised. "Good. I'd actually rather not re-live it."

"He's definitely our guy. I can just feel it."

"Me too, Rick. But our feelings don't count for anything in court."

She thought she heard him mumble something along the lines of "_they do for different scenario"_, but thought better than to dwell on it.

More clearly he said "We'll get him. Let's not think about it for now though. The guy's are doing their best and so are you. Have dinner in peace then head off to bed. You're tired, we both are."

She nodded and ate the rest of her food hungrily.

They followed their routine again with a quick breakfast and coffees to go. Once they were at the precinct Beckett dumped her jacket on her chair and went straight to the murder board. She needed perspective. He sat on his chair, deciding to give her some space and only joined her about half an hour later when Esposito went to talk to her.

"Hey Beckett! Ryan and I were here till late last night. I know you told us to go home soon but we were too mad to let it go. We thought we'd channel it into the case."

Ryan joined in next to him "And it's a good thing we stuck around. His house was clean and he did look surprised briefly when he first saw us, but seemed prepared enough to face us later. So we thought that maybe the surprise was because we showed up earlier than he anticipated. Not that we showed up at all. He was expecting us to be there."

Esposito picked up "Which means that he probably has another place. We thought it might be an apartment or a storage unit or something."

Ryan continued "But then we called his neighbors and they said that he didn't stay there every night, rather almost every other night. We thought about what the barista had said, that he comes almost every other day and that he hadn't been there in the past two or three days – until today actually. It fits together and so we think it's an apartment. Maybe another small one, but he's definitely living somewhere else when he's not living here."

"So now we're looking into that again, trying to find this other place. He probably has his bike there and possibly the weapons too." Esposito finished.

Castle and Beckett looked like they were watching a tennis match. Their heads were jumping between Esposito and Ryan. 'Is this what they usually see us doing?' Castle wondered.

"Okay, great work guys" Beckett said with pride.

"Just how many coffees have you guys had already?" Castle asked them.

Ryan shrugged and looked at Esposito "Umm. Two, maybe three." Esposito looked at him with a grin and said "Yeah, something like that."

"Uhun."

Beckett divided the work between their team and went over to her desk to start making calls. After a long day's worth of phone calls which included everything ranging from profuse apologies to downright heated arguments, they were still nowhere.

"Thanks" she said as she finally put down her phone. "Any luck, you two?" she asked, looking toward Rysposito.

"Nope" Ryan said. "Nada" Esposito added.

"Ugh!" she growled. "Then that leaves only one option."

Castle raised his brow in question.

Esposito answered "Stakeout." Beckett nodded.

The 9 year old that Castle was, he had to start almost jumping in his seat. She was surprised he wasn't clapping his hands and yelling in excitement. Before he could get any more excited she added "Not us Castle. We stay here and try to make sense of it all. Ryan and Espo figured this whole thing out, so they get the honors."

It was hard for her not to laugh as his face comically deflated and he slumped on his chair, grumbling to himself and then showed Rysposito his tongue. Much to her dismay, they showed him theirs too. She wanted to head-desk herself, instead she gave them an eye-roll.

Taking their cue, Ryan and Esposito headed off. It had taken a whole day of phone calls and it was early evening by the time Castle and Beckett were once more seen to lean against a desk and stare at the murder board. Every now and then Castle would start with a new hypothesis which both of them would eventually shoot down. "Occam's razor Castle" Beckett had said.

After a few minutes she heard him repeatedly mumbling "Occam's razor. Occam's –" Suddenly he gasped and jumped off the table so heavily that it tilted ahead with him, causing her to fall. Before she could fall fully though, he was facing her and had caught her by the waist, helping her stand but holding on to her waist. Her hands were on his chest for support.

"Castle! What the hell?" she shouted.

"Huh. Sorry, got excited." He didn't look sorry at all but let go of her all the same. She missed the warmth around her waist, but this wasn't the time or place, both literally and figuratively. He told her "You're brilliant, you know that?" She couldn't help the pink hues creeping up her cheeks. He said, "Occam's razor basically states that the simplest solution is probably the most correct one. We're supposed to think of the theory that makes the least assumptions. That's where we messed up!"

"What are you talking about Castle?" she looked thoroughly baffled.

"You remember I said that all of this sounded too convoluted."

"Yes, you said it twice" she said as she started nibbling on her lower lip.

"Yup and that's cause it *is* too convoluted. When I write my books and I think that I'm getting too twisty with the plot, I try instead to find a more realistic solution – something that makes more sense – which is hard to do when you're further into the chapters. So I usually backtrack to the previous chapters and just make a small change – I create a lie. Now the problem comes in when the one changed sentence while keeping everything else the same part is hard to keep up with. Then I have the added weight of making sure that my characters don't let something slip to give up that lie until I want them to."

"And what does all of this have to do with our case? Who do you think is lying and why do you think that?" she asked, completely drawn in but needing clarity.

"This has everything to do with our case. Someone's lying and I say that because I think I heard the unintentional slip – by pure chance. You heard it too." he looked at her with a large smile and a twinkle in his eyes.

Finally catching on, with a smile of her own, she said "You'd have missed it if it weren't for the recorder."

He nodded and said "So the liar in our case is – "

"Our suspect - Daniel Smith" she completed.

"What's going on out here? Why are the two of you smiling like idiots?" Gates asked as she came to stand next to them.

"Sir, we uh – Castle had an idea about the case" Beckett said.

"He did, did he? Enlighten the rest of us Mr. Castle. This I'd like to hear." she said crossing her hands.

"Um. Okay, uh, sure." Castle looked confused for just a minute before he broke into story mode again. "We've been going about the whole case wrong. We've based a lot of our assumptions on facts that his brother and his friend told us. But who told them what they know?" he asked.

"Daniel Smith" Beckett replied.

"Right. Let's revise the assumptions from the beginning of his story and reconsider them" Castle said as he started ticking them off on his fingers. "Assumption one: Daniel Smith told Sanders that he had applied for a job on the field but that they were impressed by his scores and decided to put him into their genetics research division."

Beckett said "It seems unlikely that the army – no matter how considerate they could be – would randomly look at his college resume and decide to put him into their labs if he had just been trying to get recruited. He intentionally wanted to join their genetics division."

Castle continued "So the question is *why* did he want to do that? This brings us to assumption number two: Daniel Smith dropped out of a prestigious university where he already had a position in the same field. I bet that he didn't drop out. Either he was kicked out due to some reason or something. I don't know."

"Easy enough to confirm" Gates said. "Make the call detective" she told Beckett.

Beckett quickly made the call to the university and spoke to the Dean. "Yes, very helpful. Thank you" she said as she put down her phone and turned to them. "Daniel was working in the division dealing with certain advanced projects. He thought he was on the verge of a breakthrough but the division as a whole was yielding poor results. This division was being funded by a private company and they pulled away when they didn't get results. The lab was going to be closed and all the research destroyed. The Dean offered another position to Daniel because he was one of their star students but he refused, turned it down. He said that Daniel came to him angrily one day to quit and just upped and left. That's not the best part though. Guess the man and the company he belonged to that pulled the funding."

Castle said "Mr. James Wilkins from Turbofuels." He'd guessed as much when he thought about the recording. Because he couldn't see the exchange between his team and Daniel Smith, he could be unbiased and pick up the subtleties of the recording. He used his powers of observation for what they were worth. He explained to Gates "When Beckett asked Daniel about Wilkins and White, he replied a smidge too quickly and with a hint of nervousness – a slight quaver in his voice, that he didn't know Wilkins. When people do that, it usually means that they want to pass the subject quickly."

"He slipped up in his haste" Beckett said. "One lie too many."

"Okay, so you found a connection between Daniel Smith and Turbofuels. What about the symbol, the second murder, everything else?" Gates asked.

"Ah. For those, we strike down more assumptions – the biggest one we made because he tricked almost everyone. Assumption number three: Daniel Smith has MPD."


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Ba-ba-bum .. Another chapter. I'm telling you guys, I can't help myself. Thank you again for the lovely reviews. Consider me heart-warmed. Oooh and since ya'll are awesome, here's a teaser. Next chapter brings major fluff. ;) The more readers & reviewers, the merrier. Happy reading!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Castle.**

Chapter 13

This time even Beckett was surprised. "Are you saying that the psychiatrist lied too?"

Castle shook his head. "He didn't lie. In fact, it's what he told us about MPD that got me to think about it in the first place. The liar here is still Daniel Smith."

"How so?" Gates asked.

"We first heard from his best friend, Sanders, that he had MPD. A fact that Sanders himself came to know after their fall-out. Daniel *wanted* him to know. Sanders told us that he confronted his superiors about Daniel's MPD and that they acted as if they had no idea about what he was saying. They weren't acting. They really didn't know what anything had to do with MPD because their psychiatrist hadn't diagnosed him as having it. Sanders said that he'd been reported in for aggressive behavior and that's why he had to go to the psychiatrist in the first place. Now I'm not sure, but I think that when he came up with the whole MPD thing is when he voluntarily dropped from the lab onto the field. The rest of it – mood swings, aggression, all of it was an elaborate drama that Sander's completely fell for. Sanders would not have known much about MPD and wouldn't have bothered to find out."

"That's why Dr. Ford looked confused when we asked him about MPD" Beckett said. She explained to Gates "We couldn't ask him directly because of the physician-patient confidentiality clause." Gates nodded.

"Back to what Ford said, MPD is when a person has two or more personalities usually diametrically opposite and there are periods of memory loss. Again, I bet if you called Sanders or any one from his contingent to ask them whether Smith complained or showed signs of memory loss, they would say no."

Like before, Gates instructed Beckett to confirm this fact. Beckett made a quick job of it and to no-one's surprise, Castle was right yet again.

Beckett spoke "All this while Nathan had told us exactly what we needed to know. When he described Daniel he said things like Daniel was smarter than him, not as emotional as him, always good at manipulating people."

Castle nodded. "He didn't say it directly, but I think deep down he knew that there was always something off about his brother. It's possible that he has an inferiority complex that doesn't let him acknowledge it."

"I still don't get what the symbol or White has anything to do with this." Gates said.

This time Beckett spoke "Nathan said that he didn't know Dr. Wilkins personally. He also said that the project that came to them was not going to be theirs initially. With a little digging I found out that Auctagnitio's little project was being funded by none other than Turbofuels. I spoke on the phone to the new director of Turbofuels a couple of days ago. He said that Wilkins had given the orders to pull the funding from the university and directed it into Auctagnitio instead. At the time we thought it was just another wayward connection. But it turned out to be the primary motive. It's also probably why Wilkins was tortured and killed but White wasn't."

Gates nodded again.

"That brings us to your question about the symbol. Nathan told us that Daniel was learning a whole bunch of stuff in the few years before he picked up his career again. One of the things he learnt was welding. Then the question is, why that particular symbol? Again, he gave me the answer, inadvertently." Castle said.

Beckett added excitedly "You were looking through his books!" Gates looked confused again, so she explained. "The symbol served one purpose only - to throw us completely off the trail by blurring the motive."

Castle nodded. "Yup, I noticed that all his books were mystery novels revolving around Celts and Pagans and such. He'd probably gotten the idea from one of those. Of course I didn't realize it then, I still thought that his crazy-other personality was an ecoterrorist fueled by these books."

"Good work you two. I think what we have now is less circumstantial than before. I'll start the process of acquiring a warrant for his arrest" Gates said as she turned around and went towards her office.

After she was gone Castle turned to Beckett with a stunned expression on his face. "Did she just compliment us?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

She had to fight off her laughter. "Yes Castle, she did." She looked to make sure that Gates was busy and then touched his arm. She let her hand slide down his arm to his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "You deserved it, Castle. You were brilliant."

His mouth was open. 'What just happened?' he thought. He didn't know whether to be stunned that Gate's praised him, that Kate did or just that Kate's hand was on his. He dumbly opened and closed his mouth a few times, not being able to work his vocal cords. It was probably that Kate just touched him then.

Beckett must have realized from his face and general inability to speak. She took her hand away, smirked at turned to go back to her table to call the boys for an update but not before once turning over her should to say "What's the matter Castle? Kate got your tongue?"

He made the mistake of having a sip of coffee that very moment. He gasped, eyes watering, stuck out his tongue and started fanning it. He managed to choke out "Why is thing still so ho-hot. I was talking for the past 1 hour. And WHAT did you just say?"

"Cat got your tongue, Castle. It's an expression. What kind of author are you?" she replied.

She was very convincing and very conniving. She looked back into her paper work and said with a very steady voice "You should really wait for your coffee to get cooler before drinking it Castle." Only she knew how hard it was to fight off a smirk. But *she* made the mistake of thinking on the words that she just used on Castle as a weapon and further thought 'Someday I will get your...', she didn't let the thought complete, instead donning an expression of utter horror. This must have convinced him of her innocence. 'Great' thought Castle, 'Now I'm having auditory hallucinations. It's getting hot in here.' He tugged at his collar before gathering himself to reply to her question.

"Ummm. No, no. I was just thinking about how I wouldn't have pieced any of it together if you hadn't mentioned Occam's razor" he said as he made his way to his chair next to her.

"Oh yeah! I meant to ask earlier before we were interrupted. Just how did Occam's razor trigger all of that? None of it sounds remotely like the simplest solution."

"When you said it, the first thought that crossed my mind was that Daniel Smith was a psychopath seeking revenge. The rest of it just fell into place." He shrugged and smiled at her sheepishly getting him a beaming smile in return. She was going to make a call but she couldn't not look at him right now. Her writer man who just solved the case. He was staring at her too, longing for her touch again, but eye-sex would have to do for now.

She finally looked away and made the call. Esposito and Ryan had been there for hours but Daniel Smith hadn't gotten out of his apartment yet, although they had established for sure that he was home. She told them that the arrest warrant was in process but that they wouldn't move on him till he revealed his other place. It would be easier to convict him if they had the hard evidence after all. She told them what Castle and she had figured out – in something of a miniature form even of a summary – and that they would be joining in the stakeout later as well. When she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Castle had heard her and was yet again jumping in his chair she smiled into the phone and said "When we come there you guys take a break and pick up again later in the night. If he doesn't move today, we'll figure something else out by tomorrow."

"This is awesome!" he said, clearly unable to contain himself anymore. She had to respond to his smile with hers. She felt sure that if she were to try counting, she'd count at least 28 of his 32 teeth – his perfect, clean, shiny white teeth. She shook her head at herself.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Now we go home, have dinner really quickly, grab some stuff we need and relieve the boys in about another hour's time" she said as she put on a jacket. He had his special reserved-for-Kate-only look on when she looked at him but she couldn't think why. His eyes were soft and he had on an equally soft smile because – and he didn't point it out to her – she had called the loft home. She still wasn't in a hurry to get back to her own apartment and he was in no hurry to let her go.

On the way home they picked up Chinese so that they'd save on cooking time. They ate quickly once they reached the loft and changed into less conspicuous clothes. A dark t-shirt, a pair of jeans and a cap for him and the only wearable t-shirt - the rest were big ones to sleep in - she'd carried to the loft, jeans and one of his caps for her. He quickly called Alexis and Martha since they still had a little time. They grabbed some stuff like she'd said which included a set of high-tech binoculars ("Why do you even have these? Never mind I don't think I want to know" she'd said), some more food and water on his insistence ("Beeeeckeettt! It's a stake-out. We have to have food" he'd whined), their now-charged cell phones and a couple of other things.

They didn't take either of their cars. The Crown Vic would have been obvious and a Ferrari probably more so. Instead he called one of the car services he frequently uses to get them an inconspicuous dark sedan which they delivered within twenty minutes to his loft. She drove (duh!) to the same spot Rsyposito were at, making only one pit stop to get themselves coffee ("We have to stay up" she justified to him). Ryan and Esposito went home to rest and promised to be back in a few hours. They'd found a good little spot that Castle and Beckett now occupied. It was just at the corner from the street that his building was on. If anyone would have tried to peer into their car, they'd only have seen themselves because Castle had asked for a car with extra-tint. They still would have taken the extra precaution of ducking of course but this was a good stake-out car, Beckett thought.

She was looking through her binoculars at his apartment windows. The curtains were in place. He didn't suspect anything as yet.

"Beckett" Castle said softly.

"What Castle?" she asked him while still peering through the binoculars.

"I need to pee."

"You just went before we left the loft Castle!" she scowled at him.

"Yeah, but then we had coffee. Caffeine can act as a diuretic, you know. And it's cold." He added with a faux-shiver and completely fake clatter of his teeth.

"Fine" she huffed. "Go round the back, find some store or something and try and be inconspicuous about it."

He didn't need telling twice. He walked the few steps from the car and broke out into a run once he rounded the corner. She smiled and thought he must really need to go. He must have come back running too because he was back quickly – and not empty handed.

When he sat back in the car she asked "What's that Castle?"

"I had to buy something to use the bathroom. So I bought us cookies." He smiled as he handed her one.

She took the cookie because he all but shoved it in her mouth. Then she blinked several times and said more to herself than to him "It's going to be a long night."

After swallowing the bit of his cookie he said with a wide smile "I know, right?"

**Post A/N**: So, I hope you caught the edit. It was the 'Kate got your tongue part'. *sniggers* and the throwback to their oh-so-hot ad. Credit for that extremely hilarious and completely graphic (:P) line, goes to my intelligent friend, fellow Castle fan: kidchaos293. I swear I shook with laughter when you told me.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N at the end of the chapter. Also, there's an edit in Chapter 13. 100 points to you if you can catch it **(it's at the end in a post-story AN if you don't. What'll you do with the points anyway. "/)**  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle. If I did however, I'd be giving my writers a raise.**

Chapter 14

"So what do we do now?" Castle asked.

"We still wait for him to make his move Castle."

"Right, right." He replied and then starting drumming his fingers on the dashboard. He stopped soon though – didn't think her glare meant he's supposed to continue.

"When are Espo and Ryan coming?" he tried to ask casually.

"Castle! I told you twice already. They'll be here soon."

"What? It was just a question" he shrugged.

"Stakeout's not everything you write it out to be, huh Castle?" she asked while trying to remember that patience was indeed one of her virtues, granted it was a thin one when Castle tried to stretch it.

"Hey! Just admit it, you love reading the adventures that my stakeouts lead to. Especially when they lead to – "

"Okay Castle! I get it" she hissed before he could say more.

" – when they lead to catching the criminal, detective. Katherine Beckett, I never." He shook his head with an indignant look while tsk-ing her. She glared at him, he'd expected that, but she blushed too *and* she didn't correct him. That – he wasn't expecting.

"Tell me, Rick, when would you write us spotting him make a move?"

Rick. Oh. He wasn't expecting that either. "Huh umm" he just stared, unable to come up with anything. She did that to him sometimes. He shook his head to snap out of it. "I'd write it at the most interesting time of course. Right before we'd be leaving. Right before the other team arrived. At the end of the chapter" he smirked.

"And what would you write until then?" she asked, staring ahead of her.

'Sweet Jesus. Jackpot!' he thought. What's he supposed to do here? Is she really asking him? She knows how his books go. She knows exactly what Rook or Storm would do. Maybe he should offer her an out, just in case. "Do you honestly want to know?" he asked her seriously.

"Yeah" she replied softly.

He turned slightly in his seat to face her and to get into a more comfortable story telling position. "It would start out with some amount of awkward silence. He'd probably annoy her for a bit to get over the awkwardness. I always write him out to be smart, you know" he said before going on, "then he would become serious. He'd ask her about how she's been doing with everything happening in her life. See, he knows she'd answer him because she has nowhere to go. And really, he'd just keep bugging her about it till she caved."

She smiled "Oh really?"

"Yup" he said with a pop to the P. "So Kate, how have you been doing lately?" he said with a sheepish smile.

"I'm okay Castle."

"Oh it's Castle now?" he said, feigning hurt. "Okay, okay. I'll let that pass. How's your ankle?"

"You've been with me the whole time Rick." She emphasized the Rick. "It's fine. Completely healed I think."

"Good, good." He bobbed his head.

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but judging by his silence, maybe he was going to leave things alone for now – again. He did want to ask her more but he didn't know how and he didn't want to bring up too much. Not when they were after a psychopath.

"That's it, Rick?"

"For now, it is."

"Okay. Then what?"

Oh. She wanted more of his story.

"Then he'd try to woo her of course" he smirked.

"Uhun" she laughed. She actually laughed. Alright, he thought, now she asked for it.

"Find it funny do you? I wouldn't write it to be funny though." He lowered his voice enough for the right kind of effect. "He'd look long and deep into her eyes. She'd resist looking into his of course, but there's just something there. Their eyes are like magnets just like the rest of themselves, she ought to know by now that resistance is futile." Kate looked at his eyes. "He'd reach out to put the stray tendril of her beautiful brown hair behind her ear" he said as he did just that, "just as he'd wanted so badly to do many times before."

"And what would she do?" Kate whispered.

"She'd blush because there's this lovely warmth starting to spread through her that has nothing to do with the heating in the car. Then he'd reach for her hand that's clenching to the wheel tightly and take it into his own and start rubbing slow circles onto the back of her palm." He thought he heard ragged breathing. He wasn't sure if it was his or hers.

"Then?" now barely even a whisper as she stopped staring him in the eyes and set her sight on his mouth instead.

"Then he'd lean in slowly – agonizingly slowly, towards her."

"Can't he go any faster?" she asked, still whispering.

"Shush woman. My story." He said with a smirk and then continued to lean in. "She'd think he's going to kiss her."

"He's not?" came another whisper, but this time sounding disappointed.

"Oh he fully intends to. But he has to show her how much he's been waiting for this. How much he'd still be ready to wait if that's what she wants" said Richard Castle with as much sincerity as he could bring to his voice. He grazed his lips over the smooth skin of her cheek. She took in a sharp breath but didn't stop him. Then he gave a few more, inching his way towards her mouth, agonizingly slowly for both of them – just as he'd said. Then he wound his right arm around her neck with his thumb caressing in the spot near her ear while his left hand still held her right hand. She smiled and turned more towards him giving him the non-verbal permission to close in on the last few millimeters – when he suddenly pulled back.

She was utterly confused. "Damn I'm good" he said looking somewhere behind them.

She glared, cheeks flaming, and said "Rick! That was – "

But he spoke over her. "You remember when Lanie said that I wrote with a lot of authenticity?" he asked while looking into the rear view mirror. That's when she stopped glaring at him. It was Ryposito coming in at the most inopportune of moments. Then she looked ahead of her. As if on cue, they saw Daniel Smith dressed in black like the video from Auctagnitio but without the glares, heading out of his building.

She called Esposito to tell them to follow as she herself shifted her car into gear.

"Hey" he put his hand on hers on the steering wheel "Don't worry, our story isn't done yet" he said softly as he withdrew his hand from hers. They had all their lives left for the story he intended to give her.

She smiled and nodded in acknowledgement and said "I hope it never is." That simple statement felt like an elixir to his heart.

With that, they changed to their kickass detective Beckett and far-from-plucky side-kick Castle personas. It was time to catch a killer.

**A/N:** Okay, so. Phewf! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I caved! But seriously? How do Castle writers do it each and every week? It's so hard to keep these two apart that it's ridiculous. Sorry, had to vent. Feel free to vent along in reviews ;) .. Thank you all for the continuous encouragement. Next chapter heads back into plot. Um – and more fluff. :D


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** Last and longest chapter. It's been fun guys. I love all of you who are reading this. Thank you so much for taking the time to follow/favorite/review.

**Disclaimer: At the end of the story, I finally….still do not own Castle. But I will soon own the DVDs :D**

Chapter 15

"Hey guys, just stay back a little. We don't want him to know that he's being tailed" Beckett told Esposito and Ryan. She'd left the phone on and Castle was mostly holding it so that she could concentrate.

"'kay boss" came Esposito's answer.

They were trying to hang back as much as possible. It had become a little easier when Smith got into a cab. They had followed him to another street that was seemingly on the other end of the city. He got out of the cab and paid the driver and started walking again. Beckett and Esposito both stopped their cars a little short of where the cab had stopped and parked them there. Once Smith had rounded the corner they quickly got out and put on their vests and had their guns ready. They then ran to make up for the distance between themselves and Smith. When the turned the corner however, he was gone.

He must have entered one of the buildings. This new street was a dead end. They'd have to split up from here. She wordlessly instructed Ryan and Esposito to enter one building, while they entered another. There were four buildings in this street, but the last two would have taken longer for Smith to reach. She saw Ryan and Esposito enter the other building and then cautiously headed into the one she was now facing. Once they were inside, she checked the lobby. There was no one here. No guard, no building occupant, no Smith. She took this time to turn to Castle and handed him a gun. "Castle, for now, you're all the backup that I have. I trust you, you know I do. But please be careful" she said with a small smile. He nodded as he took the gun and then they both headed for the stairs. The elevator was under repair. 'Good, less ground to cover, less chances of escape' Castle thought.

As they made their way up, they stopped on each floor. Some flats had name plates, others did not. They knocked as quietly as they could on the one's that didn't. On two of the floors, from both the un-named flats, they got no response. Since they didn't hear anything suspicious though, they started moving up.

Castle heard Beckett whispering "No, not yet. Any luck on your end?" She had her earpiece on and was talking to either of Rysposito. She shook her head to answer Castle's questioning look.

They heard footsteps coming from above them, on the fourth floor. It could be him she thought; apparently he thought so too as he was the first to move towards the steps. She quickly moved in front of him and whispered with a smile "You still have to stay behind me big guy."

"Right. Sorry" he added with a smile of his own. She went ahead with him following, both their guns drawn.

She knocked on the door behind which the located the source of the noise. "NYPD, open up" she shouted. They heard footsteps headed in the direction of the door. When the door opened, they saw a balding middle-aged man with what Castle presumed was a beer-belly looking clearly freaked out at the two of them aiming their guns at him.

"Jesus! I didn't do nothin'" he said. "I swear!"

"Damn it" Kate cursed as she lowered her weapon. "Never mind, sorry to disturb you. Do you know or have you seen this person around?" she asked him, drawing the photograph of Nathan Smith from her pocket.

The man wiped the sweat from his brow and took the picture with his now sweat covered palm. "Yeah. I've seen this guy. Shady character though if you ask me. Why is a handsome boy like him in street like this?" he ended by coughing.

Beckett looked disgusted, but asked him "He lives in this building?"

"No, lady. He does not."

She glared at him but it didn't seem to affect him. Maybe it would affect him more if he'd just look at her, but he was looking anywhere but at her. 'Sure he didn't do nothin'' Castle thought, but asked, "Uh – so where *does* he live?" getting a little miffed himself.

"He lives in the building opposite this one."

"Okay, thanks" Beckett hurried as she took the photograph back and then turned to run back down the stairs with Castle in tow. As they made their way downstairs, she quickly told Rysposito that Smith would be in their building. Just as they were crossing a street, they heard yelling and gun-shots ringing loudly through the dead silence of the night. They ran the rest of the way and she asked which floor they were on. Ryan answered her and she asked him if they were okay. They got to the right apartment and saw Esposito on the phone calling for an ambulance while Ryan was holding a cuffed, bleeding Daniel Smith to the ground.

As soon as he was done with the call, Esposito approached them. "Jerk tried to attack me with the rod with that symbol thing on it. Ryan shot twice at him, one missed, one hit his shoulder."

After his shoulder was patched up temporarily, Ryan read out the Miranda rights to him while they took him to the hospital for surgery, under the watchful eye of the cops. Esposito told them to make sure that he'd have no chance for escape and that they would come to the hospital themselves soon.

Castle and Beckett were still looking through his apartment. They'd called in CSU by then and they were all looking for evidence. The rod of course was covered in fresh fingerprints since he had tried to attack Esposito with it. It had been wiped clean of blood. Being a scientist, they didn't expect any less. They found a translucent container full of transparent liquid, "probably the anesthetic" Castle suggested. They also found a small box full of needles and syringes, and a bunch of metal instruments which Castle and Beckett didn't recognize. They waited for the major part of the bagging and tagging but didn't stay long enough for the whole sweep through his apartment.

"Come on Castle. It's late. Daniel Smith is in custody, we've got our evidence. I called Gates. She was ticked that I woke her up at this hour but when she realized why she sounded pleasantly happy. I think we should call it a night now. Oh, and you can give me my gun back now." She saw him pout at that last part.

"Darn I thought I could get away with keeping it" he winked. "Let's go home" he said as they started to make their way to the car. "Do we still have to come in early tomorrow?"

She chuckled. "Yes, Castle. At least I do. It's this behind-the-scenes thing that we like to call paperwork" she said, earning herself a smile. "But you can sleep-in if you want. Join me at the precinct later. You did well tonight."

"Oooo! Careful there, detective. All these praises lately. You're going to land up inflating my ego" he smirked.

"I don't think anymore inflation is possible, Rick."

"Ouch! You wound me!" he said with a smirk, but then tailored his expressions. "But seriously, I don't want to sleep in. I'll come in early with you; I want to milk it till I can. I'm going to lose you soon after all" he ended sadly.

She gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean you're going to lose me?"

"Now that Smith is in jail and you aren't in danger anymore *and* your ankle is all healed, you'll be going home to your own apartment tomorrow. Leaving me all alone" he added a pout. A cute, completely adorable pout.

She'd thought about it. She was going to pack her things tonight but, it made her a little sad too. "You won't be alone for long, Rick. Alexis will be home the day after tomorrow" she said as she parked the car on his street. Someone would be coming to pick it up tomorrow. "And we go back to our routine, you'll still keep seeing me at the precinct every morning." she said as she held his hand.

He intertwined their fingers and said "Yeah. That's the problem, everything will go back to the way it was." He sighed. "It's okay. I'll deal with it" he added a small, unconvincing smile and let go of her hand.

She took back his hand and said "Not everything. Some things will be different."

"Really?" he asked her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Really. In fact, if we get through paperwork early tomorrow, you want to come over and watch a movie with me?" she asked as they finished putting their shoes and coats away.

He turned around to face her. "What movie do you plan on getting?" he asked as his hands snaked around her waist.

"Hmm. I was thinking about maybe renting 'Inception'" she said while laughing. He couldn't for the life of him understand why that would be funny.

"Oh good! I've been telling you to watch that for ages now! Why is it so funny though?"

She just shrugged and bit her lip before saying, "Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't."

He smiled and leaned in to claim the kiss that should have been earlier that night but she moved back in her arms and put her finger on his lips. The look of hurt that flashed through his eyes just melted her heart. He loosened his grip on her, not wanting to force the issue, not having the strength to talk about it. But she didn't take her finger away. She said "Not tonight Rick."

Immediately he perked up, his lips now smiling against her soft finger. "Not tonight! Not tonight doesn't mean never. But can I ask you why?"

"Because if we get started, we won't be able to stop" she said softly.

"And that's a bad thing because?" he smirked, eyes sparkling.

"Because we want to get this – us – right." She replaced her finger with her thumb and gently brushed his it across his lips before taking her hand back.

His smirk turned into the most dazzling smile she'd ever seen him wear. It stretched to his eyes and all the way to her heart. "Yes we do."

She got out of his hold - rather reluctantly – turned to him and said "Good night, Rick." He could only look at her swaying figure heading into the guest room.

"Good night. Until tomorrow, Kate." He called and then headed to his room smiling.

The next morning they ate their breakfast quietly but with loaded and loud stealing glances. They were both sad that she had to leave the loft, but both knew that this day was coming. She did want to get home too, as much fun as it was living with Castle, she needed her space. Once they were done, Castle insisted on carrying her bag and putting it into the trunk of the Crown Vic. Always the gentleman. They even rode in silence, occasionally sipping on coffee to keep it that way.

When they got to the precinct, Gates congratulated them on closing the case, something Castle was yet to completely absorb. Ryan and Esposito were doing their share of the paperwork while Castle and Beckett – by which is meant – Beckett started to do her share. Castle was mostly just staring at her wistfully; she didn't have the heart to reprimand him. It would pass. And they were going to be together for the rest of the day after all – for the rest of their lives, truth be told, she thought happily.

"The guys said that Smith is in recovery from the surgery and that he'll be shifted to lock-up soon. His lawyers will probably try to play the insanity plea. They might actually get away with it but not for MPD" Beckett told him.

"What about Nathan?" Castle asked.

"He's out of police custody. He went to visit his brother at the hospital."

"Family."

"Mhmm" she nodded. "We'll get all the statements by the end of the day and hand over everything to the lawyers."

"We still don't know the exact events thought." He said with a hint of disappointment.

"He isn't talking. I don't think he will either. But we've made pretty accurate guesses so far, mostly you have actually. Have another go at it."

"My guess would be that since he was pretending to be Nathan with Wilkins, he must have lured him to the warehouse promising to show him the very successful results of their on-going experiments. Wilkins ultimately wanted results and until he saw them for himself, I suppose he'd want to keep it all hush-hush. In that case it's believable that he wouldn't have told anyone about the detour he planned from his daily walk."

Kate nodded thoughtfully. "What do you think about those instruments that Lanie said were used on White's eyes, and the anesthetic?"

"About how he got them you mean? I don't know. But it isn't exactly that hard if you try. Black market, maybe?"

"It's possible. He was very resourceful" she said in agreement.

"I'm glad to see this case getting over. Too much drama" he said while shaking his head.

"Says the author of 27 best-sellers" she said with a smirk.

He shrugged. "Truth is stranger than fiction" he said.

"That it is."

"Sooooooo…"

"So what Castle?"

"Are you done yet?" He asked with his brow crinkled and mouth pouting while he put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the desk.

"No Castle. Have a little patience" she said with amusement filling her every feature.

Ten minutes later she heard him humming "Spider Rick, spider Rick, he's your ruggedly handsome side-kick. Can he swing from a web? No but he – sure can spin it. Watch out….." He didn't finish it because she turned slowly towards him with a glare. She must've been losing her touch he thought because when she turned back he was sure her saw her lips quirk up.

Another ten minutes later, he asked her again.

"CASTLE!" and a real glare shut him up.

"Sheesh. Testy!" he whispered and looked anywhere but at her to avoid her glare.

And so – with the much of the usual – the familiar coffee in the same chair doing the same mundane paperwork while having the same banter she had become so accustomed to, detective Katherine Beckett realized that she wasn't leaving behind the old, but was rather embracing the new.

~The End~


End file.
